'Right now, I'm in a state of mind
I wanna be in like all the time
Ain't got no tears left to cry
So I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up
I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it up'

(΄◉◞౪◟◉｀)

Two weeks later
A c e

After a lot of rest, supervised by Ray, I was finally off bedrest and I took that opportunity to book a flight back to New York. It was clear Ray has become miserable here since most the guys were still in the hospital, and her father has been visiting every once in a while.

I made amends with Blake, he promised to never act on whatever he was feeling with Ray and that he knew nothing will happen from the beginning. Furthermore, he gave me his blessing, which I didn't need, and wished us both a long happy relationship.

"Hey, do you know where my necklace went?" Ray asks, referring to her mother's necklace.

"I think I saw it in the shower," I say, concentrating on packing since we have to leave in less than one hours.

"Ray, I can pack my stuff in five minutes," she mocks what I said last night.

"I can with absolute silence," I glare and she pretends to be offended.

"Tick tock then," she says and leaves the room dramatically.

Instead of feeling annoyed, I get this warm feeling in my chest just looking at her.

"Babe, are you done?" I hear Ray telling from outside.

"Yup," I say, zipping up my bag and checking that I have everything on me.

"Did you tell Noah we're leaving?" She asks when I come outside.

"I thought you'd tell him," I say, knowing very well she won't.

"Okay, sure," she rolls her eyes, but actually gets her phone out to call him which surprises me.

After a little more while, she comes back and tells me he says goodbye and bids us a safe trip.

"Are you okay?" I ask Ray which have come from the airplane's bathroom stall for the fifth time since the takeoff.

"I think it might have been the lobster we had yesterday," she says, looking paler every time I see her.

"I'm really sorry," I say, feeling horrible since the lobster was my idea.

"You didn't plan on giving me food poisoning, you're fine," she jokes and sits back down in the aisle seat. Her seat was originally the window but after the third trip to the bathroom, we thought it would be easier if we switched.

"We land in Florida to switch planes in three more hours," I put my hand on her knee to give a little comfort.

"I'll be fine," she laughs nervously, maybe wondering if she'll last that long.

R a y

Let me give you the summary of the past couple of hours since you last read. Just like Ace said, we landed in Florida but I was feeling much better at the time. Then in our next flight, the same thing happened to me but I tried to play it cool so I don't worry Ace more than he already was.

Fast foreword a couple more hours, we made it home after a month of being away from it and it felt so good. I took a shower to wash the vomit out of my system then Ace took over as I sat on the couch flipping through channels.

"You feeling any better?" Ace comes out in a hoodie and some sweats.

"Yeah I'm fine," I ask as he makes his way to my arms.

"Maybe we should go to a doctor. It's not like you got nauseous the first time you flew to Australia," he says as I play with his hair that's fresh out of the shower.

"I don't think there's any need for that. I'm pretty sure it was just because I'm not used to eating seafood," I assure him.

"But just to be safe," he presses.

"Ace, I really don't see the point," I roll my eyes.

Just the second he was about to say something else, both our phones ring from different people. Rose was calling me and Blake was calling him so we both look at each other in shock because of how ironic that was.

"Hey, I heard you're back!" I hear Rose exclaim.

If anyone was wondering how Rose was doing, she finally agreed on therapy for her miscarriage and she broke things off with Marcus since it was too hard to look at himself again. I think she felt ashamed of what happened even though it wasn't her fault, but she finally seems happy again.

"Yeah, we got home a couple of hours ago," I tell her and we continue talking on the phone for a couple more minutes before exhaustion dawns on me with one slam. I tell her that I'll call her tomorrow and go to see Ace still on the phone.

I motion to the bedroom with my tired eyes so he gets my message and nods, mouthing I'll be there in a minute.

After five minutes of laying in bed, I feel it dip on the other side and Ace pulling me closer to him.

The next morning when I woke up, Ace was gone with a little note on my dresser that says he got called into a meeting for the company and it's nothing to worry about.

I take that chance to visit my clinic that I worked at for a quick checkup without it being on record so Ace doesn't freak out.

It was a slow day so they took me in quickly and I got what the information that I needed and headed home. However, the key wasn't working for the front door which was odd so I went to the back yard to reach the back door.

I immediately stop in my place and stare at the pathway created by rose petals leading to a little white table with two chairs and Ace waiting there.

Not wanting to mess up the pathway, I walk next to it, not taking my eyes off of it. When I reach Ace, I look up confused.

"What's the occasion?" I ask.

"I just wanted us to go back to our dates before the whole thing in Australia," he says, picking his words carefully.

I resist the urge to awe as he walks over to my side with his suit and slides the chair back so I can sit on it.

"Can I at least change? It's not fair that I'm in sweatpants and you're in a suit," I say, now noticing the romantic mood that's ruined by my hoodie and sweatpants.

"You look as beautiful as always, I barley noticed your choice of clothing," he gives a disgusted look at my over worn hoodie.

"Hey! Stop giving Patricia the nasty eye!" I cover my hoodie with both my arms and he laughs at the name.

"Patricia?" He asks.

"My hoodie, obviously," I say with a smile on my face, resisting laughter as he rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

He brings out plates covered with the fancy thing covering it from a side table that also included desert and some beverages.

"When'd you have time for all of this?" I ask.

"It's just a little thing I thought of this morning," he smiles.

The plates uncover a grilled chicken breast with boiled veggies on the side and a barbecue sauce in a little bowl for dipping. I once tasted this when Ace and I were going out to eat and it easily became my favorite dish in the world.

As we finish eating, I ask to change out of my clothes once more since it's getting darker in the evening and I really wanted to blend in now that it has gotten fancier.

He finally agrees and I quickly go find my red dress that reaches up to my knees to match Ace's red tie, throw my hair in a ponytail and pull out my little hairs from the side, and apply minimal makeup. All that was done in less than fifteen minutes so when I get down, the plates are already disposed in the kitchen.

Ace stares at me as I speed walk to my chair and try to act like before so the mood is consistent.

"Not gonna lie, I kind of miss Patricia," he frowns slightly.

"Patricia is yours that I just stole, you can see her very soon," I roll my eyes.

Suddenly, faint music starts playing and I stare wide eyed with a weird expression thinking demons have finally found this place.

But when Ace gets up, my expression changes to a more confused one. It doesn't take me long to figure out what was happening after he starts talking.

"Ray, you appeared in my life when I wasn't ready for it. The second I laid my eyes on you, I was already intrigued with your dwarf sized figure and innocent eyes. You started from this scared person and you've grown to be a positive sunshine everywhere you go. I watched you suffer and conquer many things. You make me laugh until I've lost all senses to any of my limbs and I never thought anyone could do that. You are the most kindhearted person on this planet and I'm so lucky I saw you at the clinic.

"I really don't want to waste anymore second without calling you my wife so Ray Griffin," he goes down to one knee and I have to hold back the sobs and close my eyes that are producing an infinite loop of tears.

"Will you make me the luckiest man to ever live and be my wife?" He asks with a slight smile of uncertainty.

I nod my head a big yes and choke out an answer that's barely audible. Before registering anything, I was thrown in the air by Ace and brought down to his lips.

I try to wipe my eyes with my shaking hands before he takes my left hand and slides the ring on it. I didn't even notice the ring in the heat of the moment, but it is so beautiful.

"Ace, this is too much," I say with a shaky voice.

"If you don't like it, we can always buy a new one," he says, but I shake my head.

"I love it!" I say and pull him into a hug, wrapping my hands around his neck.

My heart is filled with so much happiness it could actually burst. I'm in the arms of the man that means the world to me about to be his wife, in the backyard of our home together with my favorite weather surrounded with rose petals and candles.

"I love you so much," he says, not once breaking from the hug.

"I love you so much," I say, getting choked up again.

I do, I love this guy with every part of me.