"Why am I here?" Alexander wondered, his voice void of emotions. When he'd received a call from Byron saying Nancy wanted to see him, he'd immediately thought of the worst, but the guy had announced that he'd finally made it, he'd managed to get Nancy to renounce to her claims, secret clause included.

Alexander had remained befuddled at the mention of a hidden clause written in white ink, and mildly mad at Emma for not having said a word about it to him, informing Byron instead. She'd justified it as not wanting to disrupt their cozy happy bubble, and hoping that their new friend would really work his magic.

Alexander understood that, and because, as she'd pointed out, that omission evened out the past lies about his relationship with Nancy, it was easy to forgive her. Especially when her apologies involved lingerie and a lot of whipped cream.

"I thought your lawyer told you." Nancy mused, placing a stack of papers on the desk, right in front of him."

"He did, but I still don't get why did I have to come all the way here for it. You could have sent me the papers via Byron himself."

"Well, I guess it counts as a divorce, I guess I wanted to see you one last time." Nancy claimed, her tone almost endearing to his ears.

Alexander was taken aback. At the start of this insanity, they had bonded, becoming friends, and at some point, they'd even ended up sleeping together a few times, before going back to their strict contract.

He'd fooled himself, thinking that the heartless court shark/man eater was just a façade, that he understood her more than most. But it'd only been smoke and mirrors. She had consciously let him believe that he was more than just a tool.

Alexander had never been really interested in a true relationship, but the rare endearing moments they'd shared, he'd dared hope that, at the very least, there would be a friendship.

In the end, he was and always would be grateful to her for giving him back his freedom. Only too late would he realize that he'd merely traded one prison with another.

"Cute." He merely commented, grabbing the pen and the papers. "You don't mind if I read it first, right?"

"Sure not." Nancy grinned. "Your lawyer already did, but feel free to make sure."

"I mean, last time I didn't pay attention, I almost wound up getting married and becoming father without knowing." He scoffed, starting to read through the documents.

"Oh, about that ..." Nancy claimed, hand over her stomach.

Alexander's gaze immediately shot to her. No, she hadn't ... she couldn't have possibly ... "As much as I believe in the miracles of science, last time we had sex was what, 9 months ago."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, maybe they don't teach basic biology for GED, but you know, usually it takes 9 months for a human being to be created." She condescended.

Alexander leaped to his feet. "This is bullshit, it's not possible." He started pacing the office. "Not even you could stoop so low." He raked a hand over his face. "And you couldn't possibly hide a pregnancy for that long!"

"See for yourself." She claimed. When the door to her office opened, a group of women entered, all carrying a baby in their arms.

Alexander started sweating cold as, one by one, Nancy's clone assistants neared him, babies in their arms. His heart rate increased, his breaths hitched as he backed up against the large windows. "No, no, this isn't real, no, no, no ..." the windows broke, and he fell off, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Babe? Babe!" Emma yelled when he jolted awake, sitting up, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. "What happened?" She asked, worried, caressing his back. "Are you okay?"

"I ... I ... she was ... there were so many, and ... I ..." he looked around, in the half dark, his labored breaths slowly decreasing, "I'm alive."

"Yes, of course." Emma confirmed, confused. She brushed his back, kissing his temple. "It was a nightmare."

"I don't have nightmares." He stated in a whisper.

"It happens."

"No," he jumped off the bed, "it doesn't, not to me." He shook his head violently, pacing the room.

Emma turned on the bed lamp. "Babe, it happens sometimes, but it was just a nightmare."

"You don't get it," Alexander stopped pacing, and raked a hand over his face. "I've been on prazosin for a long time. I stopped only when I went to prison, but I restarted when I got out."

"What's ... what's prazosin?" She furrowed her brows.

He fell back against the wall, sighing. "Medication for PTSD-related nightmares."

Emma was able to retain a gasp, but her heart did skip a beat. Immediately after, she felt stupid for thinking that, after all he'd been through, he wouldn't need medicines. "You're still ..."

"No," he cut her off, "no, I stopped taking it since ..." he glanced at her for a moment, feeling slightly better, "I stopped taking it since you and I started sleeping together."

"Oh."

"Let's say I was more relaxed. In simple words, prazosin is meant to do just that: relax you enough to allow you to sleep peacefully." Alexander cracked a faint smile. "I guess I didn't need that when I could just snuggle up to the love of my life."

This time, Emma did let out a small gasp, which she quickly covered with her hand, but not fast enough for him not to notice it.

"Which part bewildered you?" He teased. "The part where you discover I'm not invincible or the one where you realize just how bad I want this?"

Emma half smiled, standing up. "The latter, I think." She admitted, wrapping her arms around his torso. "No one's ever called me the love of their life." She murmured, leaving her head on his chest.

"Not even Daniel?" He teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Nobody's invincible," Emma said, deciding to change subject, "trauma doesn't make you invulnerable, it just thickens your armor."

"You mean killing the source of your traumas and nightmares isn't enough to get rid of them?" He joked. "Wow, my father won't be too happy about that."

She raised her had to look at him. "So, dark humor is the new coping mechanism, huh?"

Alexander pursed his lips, wondering whether his next words would change something or not. "I don't regret it. I know I should, I know some people would deem me a monster for it, but I don't regret it."

"And why would you? He got what he deserved." She claimed. "Besides, let's not forget you're alive only because he failed to kill you. And not for lack of trying."

"Yeah, that was kind of Nancy's line of defense in court." Alexander commented, then sighed. "I dreamed of her."

Emma blinked her eyes, confused. "Of her?"

"Well, more like, of her plans for me."

"What?"

"That whole thing you said, about her planning on getting pregnant," he explained, "and Byron's call yesterday, about her wanting to see me ... I guess my subconscious just wondered, what if she really did it?"

"We would have heard about it by now, I guess," Emma said, trying to convince herself more than him. "I've been out two weeks now, and she obviously knows we've been together this whole time. I'm sure she's running out of excuses to explain your absence to her friends and family, but she was able to put up a whole pretend relationship without anyone ever noticing. She doesn't even need you to be there to keep up the charade. Also, her friends know you cheated, so they probably assume you two took a break or something."

"I didn't cheat." He defended, somewhat offended. When she arched an eyebrow, he added: "Well, not technically ..."

"The point is," Emma pulled back, "don't you think that, if she was planning something, she'd have already made her move?"

"You've clearly never read The Count of Montecristo." Alexander chuckled. "Or seen any soap opera." When she frowned, amused, he explained, embarrassed: "Delilah watches a lot of those, says it's amusing to see just how farfetched the medical parts are."

"Right."

"The point is, there is something, I can feel it in my bones."

"She couldn't possibly hide a whole pregnancy for 9 months."

"She faked a whole relationship for 2 years, without ever slipping up. There's no limit to what that woman can do."

Emma took a deep breath, pressing her lips. Then, she grabbed his hands, squeezing them. "Well, whatever comes, we face it together." She claimed, pecking his lips. "And for the record, I don't believe the whole ... no nightmares since we sleep together thing. Very sweet, but not very scientific."

Alexander laughed, pulling her into him. "I don't care if it isn't," he kissed her gently, "you do me good, and that's all that matters."

"So good that you quit work even." She teased.

"I'm on vacation," he corrected, "and Delilah and Nana are happy as long as I'm happy, so, they're not even questioning why I haven't been around."

"I'm sure they don't appreciate it, though."

He smirked, licking his lips. "We could go visit ... if your boundless libido didn't keep me chained to the bed."

"Oh, it's my libido, huh," she laughed, "it's not your sheer determination to repeatedly fuck me against every single surface of this apartment before we even actually move in together?"

"I mean," he pushed her towards the bed, their bodies glued together, "after 2 weeks, I don't think there's one single surface where we haven't done it. Also," they fell onto the bed, him hovering over her, "we have basically moved in together anyway." He claimed, kissing her deeply. "And I have 2 more weeks of holiday, so ... a lot of time to try new things."

"The only thing we haven't tried yet is pegging," she teased, "unless you're into that ..."

He shrugged, trying to keep a straight face. "You never know if you never try, right?"

They both laughed for a few seconds, truthfully carefree. When they stopped, Alexander's smile lingered as he gazed at her. Emma caressed his cheek. "No more secrets, okay?" She demanded. "Sex is fun, but ... the most interesting part of these 2 weeks was rediscovering you. So, don't hold back."

Alexander leaned in enough to brush her forehead with his as he pecked her lips. "No more secrets." He vowed. "And, since we're here," he stood, going to fetch his leather jacket, "it's not the ideal moment and I'm probably jinxing it, but ..." her heart skipped a few beats when he pulled a small blue velvet box out of the pocket, "it belonged to my mother, and to hers before her, it's ... I don't know how many generations, but it's been in the family for quite some time."

Emma's eyes widened. She sat up, wondering whether she was seeing it wrong. The box in his hands contained a vintage diamond ring. Her mouth agape, she tried to speak, but no words came out. Of all the possible things she'd have expected, this was far beyond her imagination.

Alexander kneeled before her, on both knees, in between her parted legs, and smiled. "With all that's happened and that we might have to face, and considering we basically live together already, and the fact that I ..." he cleared his throat, feeling anxious.

He took the ring out of the box, and slid it along her left finger. "Listen, I ... this is not how I was planning to do it, I've thought about it many times, even when you were in prison, and ... I mean, in the end it's not the setting, you know. In the end, what matters is," he entangled their fingers, "you're the love of my life, and all I can think about is the next ... I don't know, 40? 50? Years together. I mean, maybe it's too soon, or maybe it isn't. Cos, you know, when two people love each other, and-"

"Babe," Emma stopped him, chuckling, "you're rambling. You never ramble."

"Yeah, I-uh ..." he grazed the back of his head, "I've been preparing a speech in my head, but then you know, I thought fuck it, might as well go unscripted, and ..." he sighed, "ok," he took a deep breath, nodding to himself. "Marry me." Alexander finally said. She opened her mouth to say something, but he prevented her: "Don't think about Nancy and all that drama, we'll get through it. Just tell me, yes or no."

"That's ... quite the ultimatum."

"I mean, there's not really a point to all this if it's not where we're directed, and I mean, you met my family even, and-"

"Oh, my God, you're rambling again, stop it." Emma laughed, covering his mouth with her hand – the one where he'd put the finger. His green eyes twinkled, half in amusement, half in anxiety, because, after all, she still hadn't given an answer.

Emma grinned, pulling back her hand. "This ring is way too nice for me," she said, admiring it, "and I can't wear it knowing it's been in your family for who knows how long, it's ... a lot of pressure."

"Does that mean ..."

"No."

"No?" His heart dropped for a moment.

"No, it doesn't mean what you think." She chuckled.

"Will you just put me out of my misery already?" He sighed, rolling his eyes.

As a response, Emma dropped to her knees before him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, grinning. "You are one crazy specimen, Alexander Adams." She mused. "I don't think I've never known anyone that can go from sweating out a nightmare to proposing."

"What can I say, I'm unique." He half smirked – trying to hide his uneasiness. Proposing out of the blue while they were still in the eye of the hurricane had been an insane idea, he was well aware.

And after all her resistances, only now, after he'd done it, Alexander was beginning to wonder whether she would step back. This was the same woman that had preferred to skip town instead of confessing her true feelings, after all.

"Do you honestly want a hooker to wear your mother's ring?" Emma mused, looking at it.

"Ex-hooker. And yes."

"So, you don't worry about, I don't know, meeting one of my old clients? You don't worry about that sex tape reemerging on every possible porn website Nancy can think of, and people consequently pointing their fingers at me in the middle of the street? And what about the fact that, I don't know, 10 years from now, our dreamy life in the suburbs could be disrupted by pieces of my past making an appearance?" She voiced her thoughts.

"First of all," he held up his finger, "suburbs? Ew. I'm a city boy, I ain't rotting away in some bigoted neighborhood whose greatest entertainment is Mrs. Whatever's yard sale." He laughed. "Second, the only reason someone would point their fingers at you in the street is because your husband is drop dead gorgeous." He stuck out his tongue to her, but she didn't laugh.

Emma sighed. "Alexander, come on. You don't worry about how bad am I going to make you look? I'm an ex-hooker that has lived multiple lives, I never even graduated high school and I've been in prison twice already. I have no family, no friends. I can't keep a job to save my life, which means you may have to provide for me. And what if we have children? How will they face a world that laughs of them because of their promiscuous mother? Hell, how can I even be a mother? I don't know the first thing about caring for a human being, I don't know the first thing about families. I-"

Alexander cut her off with a gentle kiss, smiling. "Now who's rambling?"

"I'm serious."

"And I'm not?"

"Come on ..."

"Emma, do you realize who you're talking to?" He rolled his eyes. "Hello?" He raised his hand. "Murdered my own bastard father? Spent 6 years in prison, still on parole and with a crazy fake ex-girlfriend set on destroying me and whomever I dare be with?"

"You're no murderer." She grumbled.

"You're missing the point." Alexander chuckled, cupping her cheeks. "I'm a wreck, baby. I mean, after this whole thing with Nancy is over, do you honestly think I'm gonna have a life in New York? She can possibly burn my bridges all over the country."

"Same for me. Although, mine are already half burned."

"That's the thing." He grinned, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. "We've got nothing to lose."

"You do." She pulled back slightly, realization hitting her hard. "You have a family, Alexander, and friends."

"We've already been there, don't use my ties as an excuse to ditch me."

"I don't want to ditch you." She looked at him, mildly surprised. "I'm here," she said, "Alexander, I'm here with you, and I will be as long as I possibly can."

"Then why-"

"Because marriage is a different thing." Emma explained, sitting up on the bed in a sigh. "I don't know how far this ... dream we're living can go, but I'm willing to stretch it and prolong it into eternity if I can."

"Yeah, there's a word for that," he chuckled, "marriage."

"It's something official."

"Yes?"

"I mean, official-official. As in, no going back. As in, once set in motion, it is what it is."

"That's kind of the whole point?" Alexander frowned. "You know, to be together for the rest of our days."

"Yes." Emma agreed, lowering her gaze. "Which ... we can be without ... I mean ..."

He laughed loudly, uneasiness leaving its place to good humor. "So, it's not about marrying me, it's about marrying in general."

Emma pursed her lips, wondering whether she should tell him. He would probably deem her crazy. "Ok, take it this way," she started, "there's ... being together, and there's ... being married together."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that if we're married, you can't just up and leave."

"Again, that's kind of the whole point?" Alexander frowned, now confused. "Don't tell me you think I'm gonna get tired of you and ditch you, cos that's never gonna happen, I told you that."

"No ..." she sighed, "that's the issue."

"Baby, I love you to the moon and beyond, but you're not making any sense right now."

Emma sighed, unsure how to explain it. "Okay, picture this," she began, "we get married, we go live somewhere nice and cozy, we even spend a few years carefree ... then boom, something comes up from my past and it shakes up everything we've built together." She pressed her lips. "If we're not married, you can walk away from all that without having to deal with it. More importantly, you can take a possible child and save them from it all."

Alexander furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you a terrorist?"

"What?"

"Are you a terrorist? Maybe you radicalized in prison? You participated to coups or something?"

"What are you talking about?"

He shrugged, going to sit on the bed beside her. "That's the only dramatic past that could possibly create such a trouble that would tear apart whatever we build together."

"Alexander, come on, be serious ..."

"I am. And I understand that you're scared, which is fine, but you need to realize that I am not going anywhere."

"I don't want you to. But you should." She sighed, standing up to pace the room. "I come with baggage, Alexander, heavy baggage."

He shrugged. "Good. I've got enough space in my car."

"You don't understand ..."