Back to Life

by Mellie George

  I shook my head and after seeing the concerned looks on their faces, I decided to bite the bullet and tell them why I had brought them in here. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a light blue box with a white ribbon on it. My mother gasped loudly, knowing what most women know when they see the familiar blue box trimmed in white and her face lit up. Her eyes immediately filled with tears. “Liam?” she asked, waiting for me to say the words.

  “I’m going to ask Rory to marry me tonight,” I said, opening the box to show them the ring. My father blew out a low whistle through his lips and my mother shrieked. Rory wasn’t a fancy jewelry type of girl, so I kept the ring simple and went with a princess cut solitaire. The ring still cost a small fortune because it was platinum and the diamond was five carats, plus it came from Tiffany’s. I wanted my girl to have the best.

  My father came closer to me and patted me on the back. “Wow, Tiffany’s. Well done, my boy.”

  I grinned at him and my mother immediately pulled me into a hug. “Oh, Liam, you don’t know how happy you’ve made us!”

  I smiled and laughed. “So, I take it I have your blessing even though we’ve only been together for a few months?”

  Mom pulled away and smiled serenely. “Oh son, you wholeheartedly have my blessing. Love is love, and time doesn’t matter when you know its right. I adore that girl like she was my own daughter. And now she will be!”

  “He has to ask her first,” Dad said, smiling.

  “And she has to say yes,” I added.

  “Oh, trust me, she will. She loves you, I know it,” Mom said.

  I had just put the ring back in my pocket when I felt Dad pull me into a hug. I didn’t know how to react at first…I hadn’t been embraced by my father in over ten years. After my initial shock, I decided to go with it and I hugged him back. “Congratulations, son,” he said. “Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said, and pulled away. With one last smile, we all left the library and I joined Rory and our little gang on the beach.

  We were now sitting together on a big blue blanket on the beach waiting to see fireworks. Rory was snuggled into me and my arms were wrapped around her, and I could feel her hair lightly brushing my cheek from the sea air. This was the perfect moment to ask her to marry me…now I just had to swallow my nerves and just do it. “This place is really beautiful, Liam,” she said, interrupting my thoughts. “I would love to live by the beach like this someday.”

  “You mean you’re not a full blown city girl at heart?” I answered.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the city, but sometimes I think I’d like to get away from all the noise and just go somewhere quiet, you know?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I think I’d like to leave the city someday too,” I admitted.

  She turned her face to mine. “You would? What about your job? You would really give up working at the precinct with Nick to be a small town ‘Barney Fife’ cop?” she asked, a ghost of a smile in her expression.

  I shrugged. “Well, I love my job, but lately I have been wondering if it be a safe job to have long term.” Okay, I thought, here we go. Start talking about the future.

  “Long term? What are you saying, Liam? That you don’t think you want to even be a cop anymore?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, baby, I’m not saying that. I was born to wear a badge, and I don’t ever see that changing. It’s just the job I do now isn’t exactly the safest one to have, and I’d eventually like to settle down and maybe do the kid thing in the future.” Okay, nice transition into children. This was definitely territory that Rory and I hadn’t explored yet, but I needed her to know how I felt about the subject before I popped the question. I just hope I could get this out before I got nervous. The ring in my pocket felt like it was weighing me down.

  She looked surprised. “Kid thing? You want children someday?”

  I smiled reassuringly at her. “Sure I do. Eventually, you know, when the time is right.”

  She tried to smile in a joking way, but I could still see the nervousness in her face. “And who might you have these metaphoric children with, might I ask?”

  I gulped and took a deep breath. Just out with it, man. Don’t be a pussy. “You know I don’t want to have a baby with anyone but you, Rory.” Her eyes widened and I placed a finger to her lips to quiet her. “I know that what happened to you with your first pregnancy still haunts you and it always will. I get that. I also remember Brody saying you still have an excellent chance to conceive a child, so that shouldn’t worry you,” I said, and her eyes went wider. With my finger still pressed to her lips, I shook my head, urging her to let me continue. I knew where her mind was going before she even said a word. “Having said that, I just want you to know that if it turns out that you just aren’t comfortable carrying a baby after all that happened and you want to adopt, I’d be all for that too. I just want you, baby. I want us, and I think we will be awesome parents one day whether we do it the old fashioned way or through adoption.”

  “Liam,” she said, her eyes glassy, “you’d really give up your chance at a biological child if I just decided I didn’t want to be pregnant? I can’t ask that of you,” she whispered, sadness glinting in her eyes. A single tear fell down her cheek.

  “You’re not asking me to, angel. If it meant making you feel safe and happy, I would absolutely give up that chance. I love you so much, Rory, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you happy. I will admit though,” I said, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, “I think you’d look awfully damn cute with a little pregnant tummy.”

  She breathed out a short laugh and smiled. “You think so, huh?”

  I nodded. “Hell yeah! Seeing you with a big ol’ belly that’s barely covered by an ACDC tee shirt? That would be cute as hell!”

  She giggled brightly. “Well, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, officer. Don’t you think we should be married first before we start talking babies?”

  I smiled stiffly. “Yes, I think we should be,” I said, feeling my nerves kick into overdrive. My tone had turned serious, and her smile quickly faded into one of confusion. I took another deep breath and reached into my pocket, my face taut with nervousness.

  “Liam, what is it?” she asked, her brows furrowed.

  I shook my head and smiled, trying to hide my apprehension. Still hiding the ring in my hand, I lifted her chin with my fingers and looked deeply into her beautiful eyes. Here goes nothing. “Rory, in all my life I never thought I’d ever meet someone that I’d want to spend every day and night of my life with…until I met you. You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen and not just on the outside. You are so warm and loving, but you are also fiercely loyal and protective over the ones in your life that are lucky enough to have you on their side,” I said, and fresh tears were brimming in her eyes. “Everything about you is just amazing. I love looking into your incredible eyes wondering what color they will change to fit your mood. I love your perfect, petal soft lips that I get to kiss every day. I love feeling your beautiful, soft skin under my fingertips as I trace along all of your beautiful ink that is forever a part of you. But, my favorite thing about you is your heart and the fact that I am a lucky man to have a place in it.” At that moment, I moved my hand in front of her and held it open. Her eyes quickly moved from mine to the small blue box in my hand, then back up to mine.

  “Liam?” she whispered, tears now spilling down her cheeks.

  I moved my free hand from her chin and placed it gently around the back of her neck. The first firework shot up into the dark sky and exploded into a thousand twinkling lights, but neither one of us looked. All we could see was each other in this moment. With a nervous feeling like I’ve never felt before, I moved my head close to hers and softly said, “Rory Shaw, I love you with everything in me and if you give me your hand, I promise I will lead you into nothing but happiness for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me, angel
?” I choked out, trying to look smooth and romantic, not at all like the nervous wreck I actually was.

  After a few excruciatingly long moments and several more fireworks lighting up the sky, she blinked and a few more fat tears fell down her face. She sniffed, and a wide beautiful smile spread across her face. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Liam Tanner, I will marry you.”

  A warm feeling started to spread through me and I couldn’t help but smile like a kid on Christmas. “You will?”

  She nodded happily. “Yes, of course I will!” she said, and before anything else could be said, I crashed my lips to hers and we both were smiling as we sealed her answer with a kiss.

  “Rory, I love you so much, baby. You will never know how happy you just made me.”

  “I think I have a good idea,” she said. “So, do I get my ring now or what?”

  I laughed. “Yes, of course,” I said, and I moved my hand from the nape of her neck to open the box. She gasped when she saw it for the first time, and I took it out. She held her left hand out for me and, smiling, I slid the ring onto her finger. “Well, thank God I guessed the right size because it’s a perfect fit,” I said.

  She grinned brighter than the fireworks in the sky. “Perfect fit,” she repeated, and she gripped my hand in hers. “Liam, it’s so beautiful.” When she moved her hand to look at it, the fireworks made the large diamond twinkle brighter than anything in the sky.

  “You like it, then?” I asked, leaning in to kiss the curve of her neck above her shoulder.

  “Oh babe, it’s gorgeous. I love you so much,” she said, a few tears still falling.

  I leaned up and kissed her tear stained cheeks. “Only tears of joy from now on as long as I can help it, okay?” I said, and my lips found hers again. This time instead of a happy kiss, it was one filled with deep love and longing. Her tongue gently touched mine for a split second, and it ignited everything south of my belt. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, desire to get her out that damn blue dress taking over me. In one quick move, Rory was lying on her back on the blanket and I was hovering over her. Before she could react, my mouth was back on hers and we continued our heated kiss. Her tongue ring clicked on my teeth and I groaned. I loved it when she would do that…that damn barbell would be the death of me. My hand roamed down her body and it rested on her thigh for a moment before I slid my hand back up, taking the hem of her dress with me. I really thought she was going to stop me since we were out on a public beach, but she didn’t. I made sure that when I proposed we would most definitely be alone, so there was no one around for miles. Further testing how far she would let me take this, I glided my hand up farther until I reached her panties, and I slid my fingers under them at her hips.

  She clawed at my back and whispered, “Are we alone out here?”

  “No one around for about two miles,” I answered back. I gently started to tug at her panties, trying my best to not just rip them from her body.

  “Good. I want you, Liam. Now,” she said, and abruptly sat up, pushing me off for a moment. Her hands reached around and found the zipper at the back of her dress and she quickly slid it down. I placed my hands back at the bottom of her dress and we both pulled it over her head. I gasped loudly as she fell back on the blanket in nothing but her white lace panties and a white strapless bra. Seeing her lying half naked on a blanket under a bevy of fireworks erupting overhead was a memory I would never forget as long as I lived. She wiggled and undid the clasp on her bra as I hooked my fingers into her panties and tugged them down. Panting heavily, she said, “Clothes. Lose them, Tanner.”

  I grinned. “My fiancé is already bossing my ass around. I love it,” I said, and I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it into the sand next to her dress. She tugged at my pants and I took over, sliding them off of me in one quick movement. My erection sprung free and swayed slightly in front of her while I was on my knees. She took hold of it and began to stroke it. I threw my head back and moaned loudly. “Ah, fuck!”

  She then laid back again and pulled me down on top of her. “Please Liam, I need you now,” she begged. “No teasing me, no making me plead for you. I need you inside me right now, baby,” she said.

  “Wait, baby, I need to get a condom,” I said. She whimpered as I reached for my pants and quickly took a condom out of my wallet. Thank God I had the foresight to bring some with me. I quickly sheathed myself and before I could think Rory was tugging at me again in desperation. I rested the head of my dick at her entrance and she wrapped her legs tightly around my waist, trying with all of her might to pull me in. “Rory, look at me.”

  She flashed her eyes to mine, and I could see green flecks dancing in them. “Liam…”

  “I love you, angel. Let me show you how much. Let me make love to you,” I whispered to her, and then I slowly slid into her, making her cry out in pleasure. She bucked her hips into, urging me to go faster, but I held back. The woman I loved just agreed to be my wife, so right now I wanted nothing more than to make love to her on the beach under a blanket of fireworks and stars. While I continued my slow, agonizing rhythm, I leaned my lips down to hers and I murmured against her sweet mouth, “You look and feel so beautiful right now.”

  “I love you so much, baby. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be,” she said, breathing rapidly as I filled her to the hilt. “I’m so lucky to have found you.”

  “Believe me, I’m the lucky one, baby,” I said through gritted teeth. She leaned her head up to me and pulled me into a kiss, ending our conversation. No more words were spoken as I took my time and gently made love to her until we both came apart at the seams.

  “Does my makeup look okay?” Rory asked me as she smoothed the stray hairs back into her ponytail.

  I zipped my pants back up and smiled at her. “Don’t worry, you look perfect.”

  “Well, with all of the crying and then the mind blowing beach sex we just had, I want to make sure I don’t look like a raccoon when we go back to the house and tell our families that we are engaged,” she said.

  I grinned at her and handed her shoes to her. “Don’t worry, baby, your makeup looks great. No one will know you cried or just had the best sex of your life while on a public beach.”

  She giggled at me. “Best sex of my life huh? You sound pretty confident in that statement, mister.”

  “Oh, I’m a Tanner, baby, we’re all pretty confident,” I teased. “And soon you will be too.”

  “What? A Tanner or confident?” she asked, a bright smile on her face.

  I leaned in and kissed her. “Both, and I can’t wait.”

  “Me either,” she said. I stood up and held my hand out for her. Taking it she stood up and smiled at me. “So, are you ready to do this thing?”

  “Bring it on, baby,” I said, and she giggled again. After I grabbed our blanket and folded it, we walked hand in hand with my fingers toying with her new ring down the quiet, beautiful beach to my parent’s home to let everyone know the good news.

  “Well, there you both are!” my mother exclaimed as Rory and I walked back into the house. There were still several of my parent’s guests in attendance, including an elegant looking woman dressed in an expensive looking white dress. She was talking to a group of my dad’s colleagues, and I stared at her for just a moment. She looked really familiar but I couldn’t place her. She was probably an old colleague of Dad’s. She couldn’t have been too important for me not to remember her. “We didn’t see you two during the fireworks show. Where did you take off to?”

  Rory looked up at me, beaming, and squeezed my hand. I could feel the huge rock on her finger lightly digging into my hand and I smiled at her. She gave me a slight nudge, and I winked at her. “Well, Rory and I went for a walk down the beach and watched the fireworks down there. You know, that is, after I asked her a very important question.”

  I looked over at my mother, who was bursting with excitement. My father moved behind her and placed his arms around her shoulders. “And what was
that?” he asked me, grinning.

  “Tell them, Liam,” Rory said to me, and she smiled.

  “Wait a moment,” my father said. “Can everyone gather around please? I think my son has an announcement to make.” I looked at him and sighed. I silently hoped that we could have told our families about this in private, I knew my parents were happy to have me back in the family fold and they would want the news of their only son’s engagement to be shouted from the rooftops, so to speak.

  Soon the room was full of guests, and Brody, Marissa, Nick, and Samantha had joined in at my parent’s side, waiting for us to say something. As soon as the room was quiet, my mother nodded in our direction. “Go ahead son,” she said.

  “Well, I can officially say that I am the luckiest man on the planet because this gorgeous woman standing next to me has just agreed to be my wife,” I said, turning to Rory and seeing joy exude from her. Cheers and congratulations erupted from all over the room and a surge of people rushed toward us.

  Mom ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me. “See? I told you she would say yes,” she said, kissing me on the cheek before releasing me to hug Rory. My father gave me a tight hug and a quick “Congratulations, son” before releasing me to embrace Rory as well.

  “Oh Liam,” Marissa said as she wrapped her arms around me, “congratulations! I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am for you both. I just love you so much!”

  “Thank you, Marissa. Love you too,” I said, smiling. “Hey man,” I said as Brody gave me a quick back pounding hug.

  “Congratulations, bro. I know you will make her happy, and no one in the world deserves it more than her,” he said, emotion clear in his voice.

  “I will do whatever it takes to make her happy, you know that,” I said as we broke apart. “I love her so much, man.”

  “I know you do, because if you don’t take care of her, I swear I’ll kill you and hide the body, got it?” he said, and I choked back a laugh. “Sorry, I had to do the brother thing for a minute.”