EPILOGUE

I woke up to beeping sounds and needles and tubes running through my body. I turned my head to look around the room. It was all white, with no color whatsoever. And then, Ian was sitting next to me with his head resting on the bed. I ran my fingers through his hair as tears sprung to my eyes. He woke up. It took him a few moments to realize I wasn't a ghost and then he sprung to his feet, ran out of the room, and signaled a doctor.

Rude. He couldn't even say hi.

"Hello, Miss Anderson, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." The doctor chuckled lightly and began her examination. She asked me a few questions and then was on her way with a goodwill note. I waited patiently for the door to close securely behind her before turning to Ian.

"Ian, where is Mikael?"

"He's fine. He's still with my brother and his family."

"But…I thought they got him…they said…"

"They never had Mikael, Ari. My brother is CIA, so he is well protected."

"Oh, okay. Are you okay, Ian? How badly were you hurt?"

"Be careful there, Ari, I might start to think you care for me."

"Oh, shut up, Ian. But really, how are you?" He shrugged and looked away from me.

"I've been better. My time here in the hospital allowed me to evaluate a lot of things. Very important things."

"Things like what?"

"Things like the future, like family…like love." He stared pointedly at me when he said that. Did that mean he loved me?

"Ari, I'm sorry about Russia, and I'm sorry that I couldn't be there when you needed me the most, that I couldn't watch Mikael grow up. I'm sorry that our relationship ended how it did. I love you, Arizona, always have and always will."

"Ian…"

"No, wait. I need to get this out. I've been wanting to say it since you came under my roof, but I guess it takes the fear of death to say the things that need to be said. I want to be with you. I don't just want you living under my protection. I want you as my wife, my soulmate, and I want to have more kids with you. Marry me, Arizona?"

I thought about it. If he had asked me this question a few years back, I would have jumped and danced for joy, but now…with all that had happened to me. I guess you could say I was no longer the wide-eyed girl who fell in love with her professor. I was a woman now. I never had time to explore the world and do all the things I'd always wanted to do as a teenager. I loved Ian, even after all these years—I really did—but I wanted the time and space to be my person, to do all the crazy things I had read about on the internet. I couldn't do that if I was married.

Life had been unfair to us both. We'd both made poor decisions—some we'd paid for and others we'd pay for in the future. But for now, I wanted that freedom. The freedom to be me. Ian looked deep into my eyes, waiting for my answer. He seemed to read me like a book because he nodded his head and smiled. I smiled too because all hope wasn't lost for us. We still had forever to settle down and be together, but I would never get this stage of my life back.

"It's okay, Arizona. I'll wait. You go on and do what you have to. I've always loved you, and that's never going to change."

*THE END*