Hey guys, I'm so sorry it's been so long but this year has been a lot more hectic than I expected. I've had a lot of schoolwork, sports responsibilities, and family issues that pushed writing for these stories to the bottom of my list. I just wanted to let you guys know that this is last chapter and after this, there will be a mini epilogue, so enjoy!

The waves crashed against the shore the same way they did the day before, and the before that. The snow accented the navy blue ocean water and although wave after wave crashed into the shore, all was silent. Marissa stood with her North Face jacket pulled close to her body to keep all her body heat, along with gloves and a scarf. She watched the ocean quietly, thinking over the past few months and how her life had drastically changed in that time.

She thought about it, he came along in September, and now, mid February, he was still with her. And if she could help it, he would not be going any time soon. Her life had only become better with Ryan and Skylar around. That hole of loneliness and heartbreak that Sean had left in her heart had been filled by Ryan and Skylar and she could not be any happier.

She felt Ryan's strong arms wrap around her hips and pull her closer to him. "It's freezing" she mumbled as he buried his face in her long, golden blonde tresses. He breathed slowly and deeply, trying to grasp the beautiful scent of her hair in his nostrils for as long as humanly possible. And she was right; it was mid February, February 14th to be exact…Valentines Day.

The weather had decided to work against them in Ryan's romantic attempt to take her a private location, a location that he swore no one knew about. He had discovered one morning a few days after Skylar had just started school. He had decided to go explore the area and discovered a desolate beach with no houses in sight. It was more like after a long hike through the deep woods when all of a sudden, the woods opened, out of nowhere, into a beautiful lone beach.

Although the weather had not agreed to one of the activities, the couple did not let that put a damper on their Valentines Day. Ryan still was determined to complete the perfect Valentines Day for Marissa. They had started their Valentines Day celebration by staying at a five star hotel the night before and waking up to the serenity of a silent room and the security of knowing that Skylar was with her grandparents. After breakfast in bed, they had spent a lot of the day in bed, making love and simply holding each other. Something they felt they did not do enough. After, Ryan had decided to take her to a special place where he knew she'd like.

"Yeah…it is…but do you like it?" Ryan asked quietly and she turned around to face him, placing her hands at the base of his neck. "It's beautiful" she stated as her eyes roamed the snow covered beach. Ryan leaned in closer to Marissa, placing his forehead on hers. Ryan couldn't help but let a smile fill his face as he looked into her eyes. "What?" she asked with a confused smile, "I love you…do you know that?" he said quietly and she nodded her head. "Of course I do" she said.

Ryan grabbed the box out of his pocket, "I'm glad…because I wanted to give you something." Marissa watched as he pulled the box into clear view and she felt her eyes start to water. "I know it's too soon for an engagement ring…but I know that you're it for me Marissa. You are the one I want to wake up with and go to bed with, and do everything in between with." Marissa wiped the tear as it came down her cheek, smiling in mirth.

He opened the box and inside laid a platinum ring, it was a princess cut ruby in the center with two smaller princess cut diamonds on the sides and even smaller diamonds going down the sides. Marissa gasped at the beauty of the ring and smiled as he grabbed the ring out of the box and started to slip it on her ring finger. "This is a promise ring… a promise that I'll always love you and that someday, hopefully soon, we're going to get married."

Marissa pulled the ring tighter on her finger and gave Ryan a hug, staring at the ring from over his shoulder. "I love you" she murmured softly as he held her close to his body, "I love you too…" with a smile as he leaned in and kissed her.

Later that night…

Marissa and Ryan lay closely in their bed, holding each other in comfort. Ryan continued to whisper sweet nothings into her ear, soothing her to sleep. "You're so beautiful" he murmured to her as he ran his hand down her naked side, letting his fingers trace her womanly curves. Marissa didn't know when, but she fell into a deep sleep and felt herself wake up to an unfamiliar surrounding.

I saw a modest dream,
the kind that can't speak up…

And lost before it's let out…
in the north we hold our tongues.

The brightness of the area was almost blinding and she had to close her eyes for a second to adjust to the lighting. She opened her eyes and sat up, looking around at the vicinity. She stood up; gazing in amazement at the white gown she was wearing, wondering if what she was thinking was actually true. She couldn't be… she couldn't be in heaven… could she?

"Hi Marissa" she heard the familiar voice say and she turned towards the voice, feeling her jaw drop at the sight in front of her, Sean. He looked especially handsome, even better than the way he looked the first day she had met him. "Sean? What are you… what am I…" she trailed off, finding the words hard to form. "Am I dead?" she asked abruptly and he laughed mirthfully, it was a beautiful laugh, a laugh she hadn't heard in a long time and just the sound of it was enough to make her burst into tears. "Of course not… I wouldn't let that happen" he said with a smile.

But down here I believe,

When you pull your hair back it's so easy to see
this has not been thought through…

"Then what am I doing here?" she said as she waved her hand at the surrounding area. "You have some unfinished business Marissa, it's about me and it won't go away unless you choose to let it go" he said softly. Marissa felt a tear drop to her cheek, "I've tried to let you go…but it's hard. I miss you and I feel like what I'm doing is hurting you…" she trailed off. Sean smiled softly, "you could never hurt me… if anything, I'm happy for you" he said with his eyes sparkling. "You and Ryan deserve each other and if there was any guy I'd want you to be with, it'd be him."

"I mean you're going need someone to cook for you since I'm not around" he said with a smirk and she laughed. He moved closer to her and placed his hand on her cheek, "I've missed that laugh" he said somewhat sadly. Marissa placed her hand on top of his and entwined her fingers with his. "I want you to be happy... I want you to wake up and think about what you have in your life, not what you don't have… or who you don't have." Marissa nodded softly and felt her heart flutter as she felt his lips kiss her forehead.

There are things that we've done that we cannot undo…
there are things I can't hear when we're telling the truth.

"Can I see you again?" she asked softly and he smiled, "of course you can…whenever you need me, I'll come to you when you're dreaming" he said. Marissa smiled, "so this will be our special place" she said. Sean nodded his head and leaned in closely to her ear, telling her his goodbyes as he kissed her cheek. "This will be somewhere only we know" he whispered softly into her ear before she opened her eyes to the hotel room.

She pulled the big fluffy comforter closer to her body and reached over to feel for Ryan but he wasn't there. She heard the bathroom door open and Ryan walk back over to the bed in which she laid. She felt Ryan wrap his strong arms around her waist and pull her closer into him, "so how was your valentines day?" he asked quietly. Marissa smiled, grabbing his hands in hers, "perfect" she answered. "The beach was amazing yesterday… it was beautiful Ryan" she said gently.

This probably won't work out,
we might not live forever…
while there's nothing to confess..
Please pay attention.

"Yeah…it really is. It can be our place, it can be somewhere only we know" he said almost inaudibly into her ear and she almost felt like she was mistaken. She turned over and faced him curiously, "what did you say?" she asked. Ryan looked into her eyes with a smile, "I said it can be somewhere only we know" he said and she felt a small smile come onto her face as she turned back over and nestled herself in Ryan's arms as she responded, "yeah… I guess it can."

And I know that it's brief…
there's not nearly enough in one night to have seen,
what you had in your hand.