“Lauren, I want to be the father of your children. I think, the night of Vincent and Eve’s wedding, I knew you were the one. You know how badly I wanted you, but my demons were a wrench in my life. But your laughter, your smile, your depth, your soul? It all speaks to me. It saved me. I will always love you. Be my wife, Lauren.”

He removes the ring and slides it onto my left hand. A simple round solitaire, surrounded with delicate red rubies. “The stone belonged to my mother, but I had it reset.”

I drop to my knees, too, and he immediately wraps me up in his huge arms.

“Yes, Slade. Yes.”

I burst into tears because we’ve come so far. The last six months, we’ve been traveling between Nevada and California. Long rides on his bike. Sunday night dinners with my family when he was in town. The never-ending phone calls. Conversations about life. His past. Mine. Helping to put together his broken pieces, displaced since war. I saw his doctor a few times, too. And counseling us together has worked wonders. I learned that I wouldn’t be able to put him back exactly how he had been before war, but a new creation could be made. It would be different but amazing in its own way. Lucky for me, I love Slade as he is.

During his initial visits out to LA, we slept in separate beds. We both knew the situation wouldn’t be forever, but it was the safest move, considering the fact that his nightmares were still being dealt with and Dr. Sullivan was still testing out doses of medications. It didn’t take too long for us to feel that we could handle being side by side. And, when we did, it felt like returning home.

“Baby?” he whispers in the dark.

“Yeah?”

“Will you stay here, next to me? Can we try to do a night together? If I move too much or seem to be getting restless in my sleep, just wake me. Want you in this bed by my side. I’m ready, if you are.”

Somehow, with distance, we grew immeasurably closer. I fell in love with his mind and his passion and dedication. He hired hundreds of US veterans to work on building water pipelines on the reservation, and I know it was incredible to him. Healing even.

“Come. I have another surprise set up for you.”

Hand in hand, we enter our beautiful kitchen, tears streaming down my face. A large bottle of champagne on ice and a spread of cheese and vegetables and dips and Vincent and Eve and my parents, too! Were they hiding here all this time? My mom hugs me in her beautiful cream-colored pantsuit, and my father shakes Slade’s hand. Vincent and Eve are all smiles with their new baby on the way, and I know that my life is just beginning. It might not always be easy, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.