Allan saw her approach the airfield. She had changed in appearance dramatically. Her pale complexion was replaced by a golden tan. Her already long auburn hair had grown past her waist. He was extremely relieved she looked well.

It had been a life-changing year for Allan. He had left his job with Senator Smith and opened his own law firm. He was proud to say it had become quite successful. Rose, true to her word, had always let him know where she was. She wrote him daily about her adventures. It seemed to him she was living a life for two people, not one. 'She is fearless,' he thought and it scared him to death. He was glad he didn't have any children; reading her letters gave him enough gray hair.

Allan and Rose had become family to each other this past year. She was the younger sister he always wanted and he the protective older brother she never had. Allan thought he would burst before telling her his good news.

Rose spotted Allan right away and started running towards him. She leapt into his arms and he swung her around. "Oh Allan, I have missed you so much," she said as he put her back down on the ground. Then she looked close into his eyes and said, "Allan, you're having a love affair!"

Shocked by her keen sense of perception, his eyes bulged out of his head. "Rose, how did you know?" he stammered.

"You're glowing and you have that look in your eye one has when they are in love,"she answered. 'The same one Jack always had when he looked at me,' she thought wistfully.

Allan noticed her thoughts drifting for a moment and realized some things had not changed. Rose still had sadness deep in her eyes, as if it were coming from the depths of her soul. It wasn't obvious to most people, but to Allan, it was crystal clear.

Rose noticed Allan's look of concern for her and quickly changed the subject. "Well, tell me who the lucky lady is?"she said, taking his arm as they walked toward the plane.

"Her name is Eliza Calvert and she was my secretary," he answered.

"Was?"Rose said questioningly.

"Well, she is now my bride to be,"he said blushing.

"Oh Allan, now you will have the family you always wanted!"she said, truly happy for him.

Allan put his large hands on her slender shoulders and said very seriously, "Rose you are my family. Maybe not by blood, but I have come to love you as a sister."

Looking extremely pleased Rose answered him, "I feel the same way about you."Tears began to glisten in her eyes. She finally had the family she always dreamed of having.

"Oh one more thing, since you are family and all, Eliza would be honored if you would be the maid of honor at our wedding,"he said.

She could have burst with joy at that moment. "Oh my God, yes of course I will,"she answered, beaming with happiness.

"Good then, it is settled. Eliza's brother, Brandon Calvert, is to be my best man. The four of us will be dining together this evening,"he said.

"My gosh, Allan, you have certainty mastered the role of being a bossy older brother,"she answered, laughing. Her laughter stopped abruptly when she looked at the single engine airplane she was about to climb into, and once again she felt sick.

A knife had just cut Jack's heart in two. Or at least it felt like it did. 'Brandon Calvert,' he said to himself.

"You're going to get out of this…you're going to go on and you're going to make babies and watch them grow and you're going to die an old, old lady, warm in your bed. Not here. Not this night. Do you understand me?" he had said that to her when he made her promise. In Jack's world he had some insight as to what the future held. 'Too bad I didn't have that gift before the iceberg,' he thought.

"Aw c'mon, you would have never met Rose," Fabrizio said, grinning at him.

Jack had to laugh in spite of himself.

'Brandon Calvert. Rose will marry him,' he thought. 'He is the one she will spend the rest of her life with, the one she will fall in love with, and the one who will fill that void in her heart that I can't possibly fill, under the circumstances. He is the one who will make love to her.'

This was something he dreamed of all the time, but knew he would never do again, in her lifetime. He often tried to push the thought away, especially when he hovered next to her while she slept. It was an open wound that pained him constantly. He often found himself wishing, 'Just one more time, let me make love to my sweet Rose.'

The time he knew would always come was very near; he felt it in his heart. It would be a few years before they married, but in Jack's world years were a few minutes. He wanted this for her. She deserved love in her life -- someone who could give her everything he couldn't. In his mind he always questioned if he would know when to step back and let someone else take a place in her heart. 'I love her enough to let her go,' he thought as tears streamed down his face. "I love you Rose,"he whispered.

Climbing into the plane, Rose heard him in her soul. She was puzzled why he had chosen now to speak to her, but nonetheless she answered him back. "I love you, Jack."

Jack heard her answer, and sat and sobbed as Fabrizio put a comforting arm around him.