A/N Apologies for the delay - best laid plans and all that. And apologies for the fluffiness of this (and the previous) chapter. Anyway, as promised, one last snapshot...

She held back the smile that the sight of him sprawled on the couch, his clothes mostly back in place except for his shirt which remained un-tucked and partially buttoned, had stirred within her. He looked more like the cat that had got the cream than the Manc lion but she couldn't hold it against him – she knew exactly how he felt. If she'd been told at the beginning of her strange journey through this world that this was the road she'd travel she'd never have believed it. She'd have fought against it, even. But that had been then; it was so very different now. She made her way over to Gene and settled down next to him, the faint smell of smoke clinging to him and she breathed his scent in, letting that smile reach her lips. It was almost perfect. There was just one little change that she wanted to make and it involved his co-operation.

"Is he okay?" Gene asked, one arm drawing her closer in. He was guessing that she'd been in their son's room whilst he'd stepped out for a smoke. He didn't think that they'd been loud enough to wake the boy, just opportunistic - something that he was becoming accustomed to since they'd had their lives, and their home, overrun by someone who could barely walk or talk.

"Fast asleep," she reported quietly, smiling wider at being caught out by Gene. She hadn't been able to resist looking in on their son even though she'd known that she'd find him exactly as his father had left him earlier that evening: sprawled out on his back, the ear of the teddy bear that Shaz and Chris had bought for him in one chubby hand and his soft snores floating around the room. His birth had changed everything and not just with the chaos and friction that babies brought to their parents' lives. Yes, he was gorgeous and it had been an absolute joy to watch him grow and thrive over the last year, his own individual personality shining through, but those same events had further blurred the line between this life and the one she'd left behind, between reality and fantasy.

Gene murmured his approval and her hand sought out that familiar spot on his chest, finding his heart beating reassuringly beneath her palm, the skin warm beneath her fingers. How had she ever thought he wasn't real, couldn't be real? His own hand came to rest on hers in response, the gesture quietly assuring and urging her on. "Gene?" she asked, tilting her head back so she could see his face.

"Mmm?" he replied, glancing down at her affectionately. His eyes came to rest upon hers with the same sense of familiarity that her hand had used to snake under his shirt just moments earlier and a sleepy, yet satisfied, smile crept onto his lips. Before she'd teetered into his life in those high heels and stockings he would never have thought that spending an evening at home - albeit a proper 'family home' - with the woman he loved, their son slumbering peacefully upstairs, could even equal a night spent getting legless down the pub with the lads. In fact, he'd gone out of his way to persuade himself it couldn't but she'd given him plenty of evidence to prove otherwise. There was something so very addictive about coming home and being greeted by his son's smile. And Alex, well she was much better to look at than Ray or Chris and their 'activities' were infinitely more enjoyable but there was more to it than that: he was actually content - a status he'd long given up on achieving.

Her smile lingered as his thumb began to rub softly against the back of her hand and she lost herself in his gaze for a moment. She'd always been so certain that she wouldn't marry again. Her previous experience with matrimony had made her wary of going there a second time, not that she'd ever expected the situation to arise again either. After her messy and less than acrimonious divorce she'd concentrated on focussing all of her love upon her daughter; finding another husband was the very last item on her list. Then she'd met Gene, had found herself falling in love with him to the extent that when he had, in his round about way, proposed to her she'd been caught out by the unexpected desire to say yes as much as by the offer itself. But history (or future history) had warned her that love, as wonderful as it felt at the time, wasn't always enough, didn't always last. Torn over those conflicting feelings she'd taken the middle ground and went with 'maybe'. It had felt like the right answer at the time, and maybe back then it really had been, but lately she'd found herself questioning that decision.

She was sure that the desire to marry him had been there for some time but she'd only really acknowledged it as this year, and its Leap Year attributes, had rolled around. Watching the bond between Gene and their son bud and then blossom so spectacularly had certainly swayed her - and had also made her fall just that little bit more in love with him. And his continued commitment to both herself and their son had definitely helped; she felt sure that, unlike her ex, Gene wasn't going to abandon either her or their son – if anything it would be her who would be torn away from them, a thought that continued to taint her days despite her efforts to put it to the back of her mind. Gene was waiting for her to continue, curiosity now in his eyes, and she took a deep breath before continuing. "You know that today is a Leap Day...?" she began slowly.

"Course I do," he answered quickly but experience warned him that his agreement was only the beginning. She was obviously leading up to something else though he had no idea what. A little more alert at that thought he scrutinised her further, surprised to find that whatever was on her mind seemed to be making her nervous and that wasn't like his Alex at all.

"And that women are allowed to propose marriage on this one day?" she smiled as she continued with the theme. Once she'd admitted to herself that she wanted to marry him, the idea of her doing the proposing had seemed appropriate; in doing so she was not only making a commitment to him but to this world too. A final declaration that there was no going back; that she couldn't go back; that she wouldn't go back. There'd only been one thing that had bothered her. He loved her, she was as certain of that as she was of her own feelings for him, but it had occurred to her that he might not agree. It was 'man and wife', after all; he might be all for marriage - and she was fairly certain that it meant more to him than he was willing to admit to - but only at his asking and if he turned her down out of some stupid form of male pride, even just so he could then ask her, she knew it wouldn't feel the same somehow.

"Allowed, Bols?" Gene repeated the word she'd used incredulously. "Wouldn't have thought you'd need anybody's permission to do anything," he smiled at her. It was only as he finished the sentence that the idea she might be leading him in this direction for a specific reason occurred to him. His thumb stilled its movements at the revelation.

"Well, no," she said softly in agreement, leaning away from him slightly, her hand dropping from his loosening grip to come to rest on his knee instead. "But it's also the day that men are allowed to say 'yes'," she pursued, directing the conversation back to marriage and away from her, watching his reaction carefully. The simplest thing would have been to just ask him outright and be done with it but it had seemed like a good idea to make sure he was aware of the politics of this day, to make it easier for him to say yes.

Gene feigned complete ignorance for a moment whilst he digested her words. Was she really suggesting marriage, after all this time? True, she hadn't exactly said 'no' when he had first suggested that they get married though she hadn't said 'yes' either. But what was also true was that despite her 'maybe', despite the chance it had offered, he had never asked her again. He had thought of doing so, on more than one occasion, but he hadn't taken it any further than that. They were happy as they were, the three of them together, a family - just not one by name. He had been trying to persuade himself that a piece of paper didn't really matter as long as he had her and their boy in his life, as long as everyone else knew that they were both his. But if he was honest with himself it was the thought that she would only turn him down again if he did ask that had really held him back. "Is that so?" he said calmly, not betraying any of the emotions that were fighting for his attention right then.

His face was impassive, reflecting the neutrality of his words and she paused for a moment. It was the same look he'd given her when she'd admitted that she'd wanted more time away from work so she could be with her son instead. They'd discussed it briefly previously, her assertion that she'd return to work sooner rather than later clashing with his ideas about a woman's place being at home with the children, so she'd expected some gloating at the very least but it hadn't come - she'd only received the careful consideration he was giving her now. At least she knew he was following her. "Would you say yes?" she asked, only aware of how familiar the words sounded when they'd left her mouth. And suddenly very aware of how he must have felt when he'd first broached the subject with her.

He felt the smile tugging at the muscles in his face at her question. She really was going to ask him to marry her and despite the fact that they were going to do this completely the wrong way round something inside of him surged at the thought of her becoming his wife. He would say yes, of course, though the finer details would have to remain a secret between the two of them. New Years bollocks or not he didn't want people knowing that she'd asked him or that he'd said yes. "Would I say yes if a woman asked me to marry her today?" he asked casually, holding back his smile and unable to resist teasing her just a little.

"Yes," she answered with an exasperated huff, wondering if she had completely misread his reaction and he in fact had no idea what she was talking about. Or he was playing hard to get.

"That would depend on who was asking," he replied, struggling to remain serious.

It was the twinkle in his eyes that gave him away and confirmed her suspicions. She gave him a gentle smack across his chest, mostly out of relief rather than anything else, and he caught her hand as she tried to retract it, placing it back over his heart and holding it there. He smiled at her, that full open smile that she adored so much. The smile that was now telling her all she needed to know. "Marry me, Gene?"