A/N: Well, this is it! The last chapter! Just want to say thank you to EVERYONE who read and reviewed this story! Especially busybeesknees19, Stabson, Skyscraper77, and Tiffany, who reviewed numerous times! I appreciate everyone's input so much!

I loved this story and these characters, but I am currently working on a new Elliot story, quite different from this one, and I will be posting info about it on my profile, so check the bio area regularly for updates!

Enjoy! &*

"I love you," Johanna blurted. "I love you, Elliot."

Elliot froze, stunned, unable to even process what was going on in front of him at that moment. He could barely even breathe.

When he didn't respond, Johanna began to panic, wondering if she had done something awful.

"I just...I'm sorry if that's too much," she began to ramble, trying to undo the horrible thing she had done to make Elliot so speechless. "And I'm sorry if it's too soon to say it, but I do. I love you, Elliot. I'm in love with you. And I've known it for a while, but couldn't ever admit it to myself. But I saw this old couple sitting in Battery Park earlier, and it made me think of us sitting on the beach as an old couple, and I realized that if I ever wanted that to happen, I had to let you in, fully and completely. And then I realized that I already had – I already had let you in, I just didn't realize it. So I thought that maybe you didn't realize it either. So I had to tell you. You needed to know. You needed to know the truth."

Elliot just stared at her, still shocked. He couldn't tell if he was dreaming or if it was real life, but all he could see was the beautiful fidgety girl in front of him.

"Say something, please," she pleaded with a pained look on her face.

Just as she had done moments before, Elliot grabbed her by her face and kissed her lips fervently. He felt like he couldn't kiss her hard enough. He wanted to take her, right then and there on his porch, and make love to her.

He pulled away from her, breathing hard. He kept her face in his hands and his face close to hers as he asked with a laugh, "Is that what you were hyperventilating over? Telling me you love me?"

She nodded, still wondering if she made the right choice to tell him.

"God, you're so cute." He chuckled again. "I love you, too, Johanna."

"You do?" She asked, feeling a wave of relief wash over, relaxing every tense muscle in her body.

"I do." He nodded, placing another kiss on her lips. "I am madly in love with you."

She pushed her lips forward, crashing them against his and pushing him backwards into his house. She kicked the door shut behind her as his hands traveled under her shirt and rested on the warm skin of her back. The feeling of his fingertips against her skin sent chills up her spine.

They shed their clothes as they blindly stumbled to Elliot's bedroom, attached at the lips. He gently laid Johanna down on her back, hovering over her, kissing her sweetly, allowing time for him to grow hard and her wet. His lips traveled from her mouth to her neck to her collarbone, flicking his tongue on the sweet spot in the crook of her collarbone.

Using his knees, he opened her legs and placed himself between them. With his hand, he guided his throbbing head to her entrance. He was so ready to take her; he couldn't even be bothered with foreplay.

"Are you okay to do this?" Johanna asked, breaking out of their kiss. "I don't want you to overdo it or open up your incisions."

"I'm fine; I don't care." He shook his head. "I need this; I need you."

She nodded, and he slowly pushed himself inside of her. The feeling of her warm and wet around him made his legs weak. She shut her eyes in ecstasy, remembering how much she missed the feeling of when he first entered her.

Elliot gradually pulled out of her then thrust back in, trying to maintain a slow and steady pace, but all he wanted to do was make her scream.

Johanna lifted her hips, rocking them back and forth to meet Elliot's hips with force. He loved how she didn't just lay there and make him do all the work. He could tell she was really into it, really enjoying it, and that drove him wild.

He looked down, watching their hips meet and his dick disappear inside of her as he thrust harder into her. A low growl escaped from deep within his throat as the sight nearly sent him over the edge.

His thick head hit the sensitive spot inside Johanna's warmth repeatedly as he continued to buck his hips, building up an overwhelming sensation between her legs, causing a soft moan to escape her lips.

They had made love numerous times before, but something about that time was different. It was real, vulnerable, raw love. And for the rest of the afternoon, and a few other times throughout the rest of the evening and night, they made love like that, immersed in each other's bodies, consummating their relationship, and relishing the admittance of their true feelings for one another.

One Year Later

The sun rose outside the large window, painting a stunning picture behind the ocean and sand as it brought light into the dim room of the beachfront condo that Elliot bought for he and Johanna. He surprised her with it at the start of their spur-of-the-moment vacation – something he had actually planned for months in advanced.

She laid next to him on her side, awake as he continued to sleep on his stomach, watching his steady breathing, infatuated with his existence. With her left hand, she lightly traced the scars on his back from his injury a year ago as she looked at her newly decorated finger, remembering how Elliot's shooting changed her life in multiple ways.

She had been so scared to admit her true feelings for him, the fact that she was in love and wanted him to be a part of her life forever. But when the flood of emotions hit her like a ton of bricks, she couldn't deny it or ignore it any longer.

They laugh now when they reminisce on the panic attack she had when she tried to tell him she loved him, and they laugh at how she managed to find the courage to tell him before he told her. But it was a mutual understanding; both had been through a lot of hell in the past when it came to relationships.

But once it was out in the open, there was no turning back. They were stuck together like glue for the rest of their lives from that point on.

A deep sigh escaped Elliot's lips as he awakened. He picked up his head and looked over his shoulder, smiling wide when his eyes landed on the redhead. It was the sight he loved to see first thing in the morning.

"Morning," he sighed sleepily.

"Good morning," Johanna greeted back sweetly with a smile.

He turned over onto his back then kissed her on the cheek. She snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest then kissing his warm skin softly. He wrapped his arms around her, as she traced the scars on his chest, identical to the ones on his back.

He grabbed her hand from his chest and kissed the back of her hand lovingly then eyed her fingers.

"Look at that rock," Elliot stated proudly.

"I can't stop staring at it," she sighed as she held her hand up, admiring the way the light glistened off of the diamond ring on her finger. "It's perfect."

The memories of last night quickly leapt back into her mind as she remembered the gorgeous beach at sunset, the walk they took together on the sand, and how Elliot got down on one knee where the waves crashed onto the shore and asked her to marry him.

Typically, the idea of an engagement would've sent Johanna running for the hills. But not this time. This time, she was thrilled. She couldn't say 'yes' fast enough due to the stream of tears running down her face.

She thought the entire trip was so he could surprise her with the gift of the condo he brought for them. So she was swept completely off her feet and taken completely by surprise when he proposed as well.

It was the perfect start to the rest of their perfect life. And just like that, they were locked together forever.