OMG, Carol...
"She asked me some hard questions about what I want out of life – out of us – and I didn't have any answers for her. But then I saw you in there." Emotions were filling my voice and I reached for her hand. "I realized that if anything happened to you... Love is who you can't live without, remember?"
She nodded, but still refused to look at me.
"I realized that if something happened to you, I'd have to explain to Christopher and Nate why I hadn't saved you. To your dad why I hadn't protected you. To my parents why I'd realized it too late. And I'd have to live without you. In that moment, right as the explosion happened and the smoke was too thick to see through..." I choked up, tears threatening to overflow. "I realized that I don't know how to live without you anymore."
"So you're codependent," she whispered coldly.
I shook my head. "No, it's not like that at all and I think you know that. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I love you, Lois. I love you like I never loved Lana." I pulled her hand to my face and pressed my lips against it. "I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you. I want to spend hours making love to you. And I want fast and furious sometimes, too. I want to raise my kids with you. I want to be your partner at work and at home." I smiled slightly. "I want you to call me Einstein all the time again." I took a deep breath. "Whaddya say? Are you willing to give us a real shot?"
You had me at hello--you had me at hello!
<sniff> ~Sheila
