"I mean it, Jules," he whispered as we savored the afterglow. "Marry me?"

An effervescent laugh spilled from deep inside me. "Yes, Harry. Of course I'll marry you."

He fell back into the sheets and expressed an extreme sigh. "I bet I'm the only boy to marry his nanny!"

I shot up and turned to look at him. "What!?" I cackled. "Did you really just say that?"

A mischievous smirk took over his face. "You bet I did."

I climbed over him and started to tickle his sides. He writhed in fake agony, barking out laughter. "Stop! Stop!" He cried and I continued my attack.

Finally I stopped and leaned over to kiss him. "I will be honored to be your wife."

His smile settled into one of perfect contentment. "And I will be honored to have you as my wife." He raised his head to kiss me a bit more deeply. "But Jules?"

"Mmhm."

"I don't want to wait."

I sat up and tilted my head in question.

"I said I wanted to marry you as soon as we escaped. And I still do. I want to marry you now. Today. Or as soon as we can."

I stared at him in awe and considered what he was saying. That meant no big church wedding, no big bash reception, no wedding dress.... And I realized those things didn't matter to me as much as claiming him as my own and giving myself to him completely as his wife, his partner for life. 

"Okay," I grinned. "But my mom has to be here. So we have to find out when she can come back."

He just smiled and nodded, and then he tugged me down to kiss him one more time.

"Harry?" We heard yelling. "Jules?"

"Shit!" I said and jumped off the bed to find my clothes. We got dressed in record time and managed to seat ourselves on the couch and pick up a book before Dad and Clive knocked at the treehouse door.

"Come in," I called and gave Harry a guilty look. God, I hoped they couldn't tell what we'd been doing.

Harry waved his book at me as Dad and Clive entered. I noticed the green cover and grinned widely. It was Matched. I gave him a knowing smile and clutched it to my heart, fully intending to take it with us.

"Wow, this place is fantastic," Dad said and Clive agreed.

"This is only a small part of it," I told him. "There are walkways across the treetops that go for hundreds of yards. It's pretty amazing."

"Looks like it," Dad replied. "At least you guys had some fun out here." Harry and I looked at each other, our eyes wide in disbelief when he continued, "Jules told us about exploring the woods behind the house. I just never imagined how cool it really was."

With a barely audible sigh of relief, Harry and I stood up and I asked, "How is Anne?"

"She's been taking notes," Clive answered. "Trying to figure out who to call first. That woman is..." He shook his head in wonder. "She's amazing. And strong. I can definitely help her, but she's just...amazing," he repeated. "Anyway, we're thinking it's just about time to head out unless you two want to do anything else."

Again, Harry and I exchanged guilty looks. "No, we're good for now," he answered for us.

We made our way back to the car, stopping momentarily to absorb the enormity of the damage from the fire. "You okay?" I asked Harry quietly and his equally quiet, yet somewhat naughty answer was, "I am now." I pushed him playfully and he giggled.

Once we returned to the hotel, we called my mom and put her on speaker so we could tell everyone all at one time.

"Hi, Mom," I said once we had everyone situated. "Harry and I have some news that we wanted to share with you. And everyone here, well, they don't know yet either." My dad's eyes widened and Anne looked slightly taken aback. Clive just looked at the floor and chuckled knowingly.

"O...okay," she said hesitantly and I knew everyone thought we were going to announce a pregnancy but I shut that train down quickly by telling them the real news.

"We want to get married," I said eagerly. "Soon. Like as soon as you can come back to Vancouver."

Harry and I were grinning like idiots while everyone else looked around in awkward reticence. We slowly realized that no one else was hopping on the celebration wagon just yet.

"Mom?"

"Yes, I...I heard you. I just...are you sure? You don't want to wait a bit?"

"Wait for what?" I asked.

"Till you're older," she suggested and Dad chimed in, saying, "Yes, that might be wise."

"Why?" I asked and I looked at Anne and Clive who hadn't spoken yet.

"Honey, you've been through so much," Mom argued gently. "Marriage is a big step."

"And Harry and I know we want to get married. So why should we wait?" I asked, starting to feel a bit defensive.

"What does Harry's mom say?" She asked and I looked at Anne to answer.

"Well it's a bit of a surprise," she said graciously. "But I know they love each other."

Then my mom suggested that she and Dad talk to me "alone," so I went into our room with Dad and kept her on speaker phone. I could tell that Anne was eager to speak with Harry privately, too.

"Okay," I said. "It's just Dad and me."

"Honey, I'm not trying to shoot you down but do you really think this is a good idea?" She asked. Dad sat next to me on the bed and put his hand on my back.

"Yes," I insisted. "I think it's a great idea. Obviously."

"But you're so young," she said. "And Harry...we love him so much but honey, he's still practically a child."

"He is not!" I snapped. "You didn't know him when he was acting like a child but that wasn't his fault. He's grown up a lot and he's very sensitive and intuitive, even compared to other twenty-year-olds."

I heard her sigh and my dad spoke, "Why not just wait, at least until the trial is over? Then you have to decide where you want to live and Harry has to think about education and a job. It's just so much."

"Not to mention the fact that you can't be anywhere near ready to start a family," Mom said.

"Who said anything about starting a family?" I cried. "I know we're not ready for that yet. It's called birth control and we're already using it!"

They were silent for far too long. Mom finally said, "Don't get defensive. We're just trying to help you to see the possible complications with making such a big decision."

"Yeah, well so far, you haven't listed any possible complications except for me getting knocked up, which I'm not going to do."

"Jules," Dad warned softly.

"Well, you heard Dad," she began. "Harry doesn't even have an education or a job. He probably doesn't even know where to start."

"So you should only get married when you have a job?" I asked.

"Not exactly," she said. "I just think it's more helpful if you are established and you know what you want to do with your life."

"I want to be with Harry," I stated flatly.

"Can you support him?" Dad asked.

"What?" I shot back. "I don't know. I don't even know where we're going to live and what kind of job I'm going to get now that this one is over."

"And you want to get married...." Mom said as if I'd forgotten.

"All right," I said, trying to calm the frustration that was welling up inside of me. "So, Harry and I are going to be together no matter what. He will have to figure things out and I will help him. I will have to figure things out and he will help me. I know that we'll both go through some psychological crap that we have to deal with and Harry will need to see a therapist to work through the shit-fest that was his life for 18 years. I know these things! But we're still going to be together, no matter what. All I want is to be married to him, to show him that I'm committed to him forever. He needs that after all he's been through. And I need that!"

"What if something changes?" Dad asked.

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. "Like what? What's going to change?"

"Harry still has so much of life to experience. What if he changes and you two...I don't know...what if you're not in love anymore?" He replied.

Tears slid down my cheeks. "So you and Mom were just lying to me all these years?" I demanded.

"What on earth?" Mom asked and Dad gave me a very confused look.

"You always told me that love is about much more than feelings. It's about commitment. It's about putting work into a relationship no matter how tough it gets. But now you're saying that I might just fall out of love."

"That's not what we're saying," Dad said softly.

"I'm done with this conversation," I said and left the room, slamming the door behind me.

Harry and his mom watched me as I grabbed my purse and left the suite, slamming that door behind me, too. I took the stairs, racing down and bursting through the front door of the hotel. I walked until my head wasn't fogged with emotion and my tears were mostly dry. I finally pushed open the door to a small coffee shop and went inside.

I walked up to the counter and said, "Can I get a small caramel cappuccino?" I pulled my wallet out of my purse and handed the barista a $10 bill. He gave the my change and my coffee and I sat down next to the small fireplace.

After two sips of coffee, I was surprised to see Clive walk in. He ordered a coffee and came to sit across from me.

"If you're here to tell me what my parents have already told me, save your breath," I muttered, not looking him in the eye.

"I was going to say, 'Congratulations'," he said.

"Really?" I asked, now looking at him squarely. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "And yes, Harry's a great catch. And so are you."

"Thanks," I blushed. "But what about all the 'You're not ready' and 'You're too young' business?"

He took a drink of his coffee and said, "Well, try to look at it from your parents' perspective. You've been through an awful lot in the past few months. Enough to send someone to a mental hospital," he chuckled. "You and Harry are handling it remarkably well. But you know he's going to have to go through some therapy and he's going to change as he owns his adulthood."

"I know, but I want to be there for him through all of it," I insisted.

"So, be there for him," he answered.

"I will," I bantered, giving him a small smile.

"He's going to change a lot," Clive said again.

"But not in the ways that matter," I argued. "He has one of the most pure and wonderful hearts of anyone I know. You can't deny that. After all the shit he's endured, he's managed to somehow come out as this amazingly strong and positive person. Now things are only going to get better for him and I honestly don't think he's going to suddenly turn into some bitter and cynical person."

"You have a point there," Clive agreed with a defeated smile. "That kid is a regular ray of sunshine."

"He's not a kid," I smirked. I sipped more of my drink and said, "I just don't think we have to wait for some arbitrary time or state in our lives when we are deemed ready to be married. I love him and nothing will change that. And I know he loves me. Period."

"That right there is what it takes," Clive answered softly. "And a good bit of work. Self-sacrifice. Compromise. Patience. Forgiveness-"

"Okay, I get it," I laughed. "I think I'm prepared for that."

"Just make sure you give yourself time to heal after this. It's been such a trauma for both of you."

"I will," I assured him. "But Harry has already helped me to heal in all the ways that count."

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