The rest of Connor and Ellie's time at the university seemed to fly by.

It seemed only yesterday that Ellie was a nervous, bumbling freshman and now she was getting ready to start student teaching at an elementary school in Saratoga. Ellie remembered the day she decided to switch her major from Journalism to Elementary Education. Connor was in full support and he even told her that the thought her being a teacher was cute to him. Desmond was shocked, but he didn't doubt her and Claudia was all for it.

Many things had happened over the four years at school. Connor had graduated the year before and he was only weeks away from completing his training at the police academy.

Desmond, meanwhile, had got into grad school and was now one step closer to becoming an FBI agent.

Claudia was now working for her Uncle Mario, being his secretary for his business. Ellie remembered how proud the Auditores were, because Mario apparently was a business idiot and Claudia was probably going to be the only person who could save it.

Lucy was even further on her way to a full recovery and she was even allowed to talk to her old friends. To no one's surprise, she kept in touch with Desmond the most. She and Ellie still talked frequently, though, and Ellie believed that everyone was close to putting the incident they all experienced in high school behind them. Ellie hoped that Lucy would eventually get to hanging out with them all in person again.

Meanwhile, Ellie felt that she struck gold with her student teaching position because the teacher she was working with was the same teacher she had in kindergarten.

Mrs. Greene was a kind, elderly woman who seemed to have been at the school forever, but everyone loved her. She had a regal air about her that demanded respect but her twinkling blue eyes always had a kind look to them.

Ellie was just finishing helping decorate the classroom when Mrs. Greene walked back in after getting them lunch. "Almost done dear?"

Ellie looked away from the poster she was trying to tack on the wall. It was times like this she cursed her height even more than usual. She wished her tall boyfriend was here to help her when she needed him the most.

"Almost. I'm just having trouble with this last one."

"Goodness, this reminds me of when you were in my class. You always were the smallest," the older woman chortled.

"Was I?" Ellie giggled back, finally managing to tack down the poster.

Mrs. Greene set the two bags from the nearby café down on a desk and gestured to the other chair. "It occurred to me, Miss Johnston, that we have not really had a chance to catch up since you started coming this week."

Ellie took a seat and grinned. "Well, we've been so busy getting the schedule set up, the classroom ready and-"

Mrs. Greene's chuckle cut her off. "So, tell me, how was everything after you left me? I understand you went through some rough times. Some of the other teachers talking about it…" The woman's kind look turned into a sympathetic one.

Ellie suddenly realized how much Mrs. Greene didn't know. She took a deep breath and started to tell her everything that happened after kindergarten; from her dad's death to now.

Mrs. Greene, as expected, arched her brow when Ellie mentioned meeting her boyfriend, Connor, in high school. "Is that the tall young man that dropped you off this morning?" she asked, eyes twinkling with mirth.

Ellie couldn't help but grin. "That might be him."

"And you two have been together since high school?"

"Yes. I can't believe it's almost been five years sometimes," Ellie said with a wistful sigh.

"Tell me about him," Mrs. Greene said, pulling out her sandwich.

"Well, he's training to become a police officer right now. He wants to be a detective someday. We're trying to find an apartment right now." Ellie stiffened when she realized that she just admitted her and Connor's plans.

Mrs. Greene, to her relief, didn't seem to share the same opinion her foster parent's shared about the subject. When she told the Johnstons she and Connor were going to live together, they were slightly against it; claiming that their worries were for financial reasons. Ellie knew better. While the Johnstons were more open minded than most people of their generation, they still had conservative beliefs about certain things… like a couple living together without being married.

"It's lovely that you two are taking that step in your lives. I remember my first home. It was a tiny cottage near the school. The roof leaked and the floorboards creaked, but I loved it for some reason."

Ellie couldn't help but grin and imagine a young Mrs. Greene living in a tiny, cute cottage somewhere. "I suggest not getting a place near the lake. Those apartments and houses usually tend to be more expensive. At least they were when Allan and I were trying to find a home."

Ellie stared at her teacher in mild surprise before she recovered. "Thanks, we'll keep that in mind. His dad is trying to help too."

Mrs. Greene chuckled. "Oh, and look for places that have washing machines and driers. It's annoying to try to find a laundromat constantly."

"Wow, any other life tips before we go home today?" Ellie joked.

"You're not the first student teacher I've had. The others were in your situation too." The elderly woman grinned. "Ellie, I was meaning to tell you this later, but I believe now is a better time than later."

Realizing that she was holding her sandwich halfway toward her mouth, Ellie set it down, giving Mrs. Greene her full attention. "What is it?"

Mrs. Greene also set her sandwich down. "Ellie, I only started taking student teachers about five years ago. I want to retire, but I've been here for so long and I want to make sure I know who is taking my place when I leave. The principal, school board, and I talked it over and they agreed to let me help choose the new teacher to come here. Only a couple of the previous teachers fit our requirements, but they decided to go somewhere else.

"So, you're probably smart enough to realize why I'm telling you this?"

Ellie was glad she set her sandwich down because she would have dropped it. "I…might get to work here next year?"

Mrs. Greene's smile grew. "Of course. I have faith in you. And your professors at Saint Rose spoke highly of you when they reached out to us to take you as a student teacher."

Ellie couldn't stop the beaming smile from coming to her face.

She couldn't wait to tell Connor.

Connor groaned as he let his forehead fell with a heavy thump to the kitchen table. His sight was becoming blurry from staring at ads for so many hours. Ellie also groaned and followed suit. They were just trying to find an apartment that fit their budget and was close to both of their jobs at the moment.

Frankly, there were just too many to look at. There was a growing pile of rejects in the middle of the table and Ellie was keeping the few that met their requirements next to her.

"Are you two still awake?"

Connor looked to see Haytham standing in the entryway to the kitchen. "Please tell me you have some trick to finding a decent apartment in a short amount of time," Connor pleaded.

"That would be amazing," Ellie grumbled, straightening out the ads next to her.

Haytham stepped closer and looked over his son's shoulder. "I had to help someone sue this apartment complex. Keep them and any of their partners out of your choices."

Connor heard Ellie sigh and the rustling of paper as she tossed out a few from their pile.

"And remember to find a place that has washing machines and a drier. Your mother lived in one without those and she told me that was a pain in the arse." Haytham paused and stood up straight. "And I assume you are looking for a one bedroom apartment? Don't get the ones near the lake. They're expensive."

Connor heard Ellie take out a few more pieces of paper. They had wanted to get a two bedroom apartment in case one of their friends –mainly Desmond—needed to crash somewhere. But Connor was kind of against it from the start. A one bedroom apartment was cheaper and it wasn't like he and Ellie weren't sleeping in the same bed for about two years now. They managed to live off campus their last two years and they have been sharing a bedroom ever since then.

Connor had thought that he would hate sleeping with someone else. He always managed to get too hot when he slept, but he could never imagine not sleeping with Ellie ever again. Desmond and his dad could tease him all they wanted; he didn't care what anyone thought. That didn't mean he didn't notice the heated glares Mrs. Johnston would occasionally point at him.

"Okay, that leaves us with five apartments to look at tomorrow," Ellie finally said, straightening out the remaining ads.

"Alright, now I'm going to bed," Haytham grumbled, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

Connor stayed quiet until he could hear his dad's bedroom door close.

"Well, at least he doesn't care if we have a two bedroom apartment or not."

Connor looked back at Ellie, rolling his eyes. "Ellie, I think I'm proof of what my dad thinks about that."

She chuckled and stood up from her chair, slowly making her way over to him from the other side of the table. Connor watched as she slowly fid her fingertips along the table's surface as she walked along. Connor opened his arms and Ellie stepped into them and plopped herself down on his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she rested her head on his shoulder as he lazily wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I just wish Eliza and Peter would be the same way. They still give me hints about two bedroom apartments or ask if I just want to get one by myself," she sighed, nuzzling her nose into his neck.

Connor's insides melted with the action, but a nagging doubt he had been having recently came with it. "Ellie, do you want to get a two bedroom apartment? Yeah, it will be more expensive but we-"

"No. I've told them over and over again that we're living together and they're not stupid. They know we're sleeping together."

Connor flinched. He never wanted his relationship with Ellie to cause trouble between her and her family, but she didn't seem to mind too much.

"That explains the glares I've been getting."

Ellie snorted. "You know they really love you right? They just think this is too fast for us."

"After almost 5 years? I think we can handle it."

"That's what I said!"

They both chuckled a little before a comfortable, sleepy silence enveloped them. "We should get to bed. The last thing we need is both of us being cranky while talking to land lords tomorrow."

"Agreed."

Ellie suddenly perked up, beaming down at him. "Guess what Mrs. Greene told me today!"

"What?"

"She said if I do well and if I need a job next year, I might get to take her spot when she retires! I could be teaching right away instead of job hunting for a year or two," she said breathlessly.

Connor couldn't form proper words for her. He knew how nervous she was about student teaching and how anxious she got when she thought about trying to find a job. This teacher was her godsend and he wanted to thank the woman properly. But, first things first, he had to congratulate his girlfriend in a way a boyfriend should. He gently took her face in his hands and pressed a happy kiss to her lips. "That's great!"

Ellie continued to babble on about Mrs. Greene and how much she was looking forward to the school year now and Connor couldn't stop the goofy grin from coming to his lips as he watched her move her hands in excitement.

God, he loved her.

After many weeks of searching fruitlessly, Connor and Ellie finally managed to find the perfect apartment two days later.

Ellie couldn't help but feel a deep satisfaction when she looked around. Boxes were piled high around her and Connor had flopped down unceremoniously on the futon Mr. Kenway had in his guest room- even though they told him not to give it to them- and sighed.

Thumping his leg, Ellie started to move the boxes to their respectful rooms. "Come on, we can nap later."

Connor groaned, but he followed after her anyway. They started unpacking around lunch and it was well into the night before they finished putting everything in their respective rooms. They still had to figure out how to set up the living room exactly, but the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen were done and that was enough for both of them right now.

They had collapsed onto their bed and were now just staring at the ceiling. Ellie was using Connor's arm as a pillow and she was snuggled into his side. "Did you ever think we would ever get this far in our relationship?" Ellie asked, peeking up at him.

Connor snorted out a laugh. "Oh please, I can hardly get over the fact that we're dating sometimes."

Ellie rolled her eyes and pinched his side. "To be honest, I never thought this far ahead when we first started out. I was just going with the flow."

"Me too," Connor replied, gently running his fingers down her back. It wasn't the usual comforting back rub that he usually did. He only touched her like this when he wanted to…

Ellie shivered as his fingers lazily started to move up her back again. His fingertips barely grazed her spine and it was causing delicious shivers to spread throughout her body. She bit her lip and slowly sat up before swinging a leg over to straddle his waist. "You know what happens when you touch my back like that," she teased, resting her hands on his chest.

"I know, Takó's."

Ellie couldn't hold back her giggle. "You haven't called me that in years!"

"What else are you if me touching your back puts you in the mood?" he teased.

Ellie gently dug her nails into his shirt, hoping he could feel them. "You want to see what else it does?"

After they finished, Ellie grinned stupidly up at the ceiling while Connor nuzzled into her neck. She still couldn't get over just how good it was to be with him, physically and emotionally.

She remembered the first time they made love, if one could call it that. It included a lot of fumbling, apologies, and laughter. It was perfect though, because she trusted him and he trusted her.

It was her second year at college and they had managed to find a small house off campus with Desmond, Myriam, and Norris. It was around Christmas time, when the house was empty except for her and Connor, when they decided to take the next step in their relationship. Connor was adorably trying to make sure she enjoyed it. Ellie couldn't help but grin at the memory as she looked down at him now, sleeping soundly with his face buried where her neck met her shoulder.

She had heard the horror stories about sex before she dated Connor and she heard even more while dating him. None of those horror stories have become reality, though, and Ellie gave credit to how much she and Connor care for each other and how much they talked about it beforehand.

Connor, it turned out, was a very attentive lover and he always paid attention to her whenever they made love. Ellie was truly a lucky girl and she always returned the favor to him.

Ellie realized just how good they had it as she gently stroked Connor's hair.

Good Lord, she loved him.

Doomed.

That's all Connor was.

Many people would say otherwise. He just graduated from college. He passed the police academy. He had a good job as a police officer now—low rank, but who cares, it's a job—and he was living with the woman he loved.

Yet, he felt doom.

He couldn't believe that he was on his way to his grandmother's house to ask for his mom's jewelry.

Nervousness made him jittery. This whole situation could go downhill really fast and he really hoped it wouldn't.

His grandmother asked them that when he finally pulled into her driveway at the reservation.

"Ista told me about the ring you gave her after Tóta died, can I see it?" he finally asked after they stepped inside the house.

Akhso frowned as she shuffled toward her bedroom. Connor suddenly realized how tiny and old she really was as he watched her go. She shuffled back in, holding a jewelry box. "So, you finally decided to marry that girl, hm?"

Connor stiffened, wondering how she knew, but then he remembered that women read minds. "Yes, I have."

"Don't feel bad. It took your Tóta six years to finally propose."

Connor chuckled at the story, remembering his almost 7 foot tall grandfather. Ziio had always told Connor that he got his build from both Haytham and his Tóta.

Akhso dug through the jewelry box and she finally held up the old ring. She smiled at it and Connor could swear her eyes started to glaze over with tears. "I remember when your Tóta proposed. I never pegged him as a romantic but he tried. I gave it to your mother after he passed. I had hoped that she would wear it someday…" She trailed off and shook her head, finally dropping the ring into Connor's outstretched palm.

Connor studied the ring. It was a simple gold ring; it was slim and slender, but the part around where the diamond was set looked like gentle, curling vines. The vines seemed to have wrapped themselves around the jewel and the jewel looked like it was cradled in gold.

Connor instantly knew that Ellie would love it. His throat started to close up when he realized what giving this ring would mean. This ring was important to the most important women in his life, and it was about to become important for another, if she wanted it to be.

"I'm so happy for you, Ratonhnhaké:ton. I know Ziio would have been happy for you too."

A big lump decided to make itself at home in Connor's throat at the thought of his mother. He knew she would have loved Ellie, and he could only imagine how she would react to him proposing to her. She would try to boss him around and tell him the proper way to do it, most likely.

The tears he saw forming in his Akhso's eyes started to finally fall and Connor quickly stood up and knelt beside where she was sitting, wrapping his arms around her.

She finally pushed him away, wiping her tears away. "So, how are you going to ask her?"

Connor scratched his head. He knew he didn't want to do it in public. He thought public proposals were kind of borderline douche-like—as Desmond would so eloquently put it—because it put the woman on the spot. Besides, Connor didn't want this involving people besides him and Ellie and those close to them.

"I want to include something she loves, but I don't know what I can do with books or baking tools," he admitted, feeling stupid. He should at least have a plan for something this important. He had no idea what he wanted to do.

"Oh, you know that young couple across the street? He just carved out a square in the middle of a book and put the ring in there. Just make sure it's not her book or something like that."

All of Connor's prayers were answered in that moment. He had a plan, something to grab onto, and he didn't know how to thank his grandmother enough.

"Now, go start planning and let me know when the engagement party is."

Connor kissed his Akhso on the cheek and gave her a lengthy 'thank you' before racing out the door.

Doom wasn't hovering over him anymore.