"Carol....I need to talk to you for a few minutes." Doug says, touching Carol's elbow gently, then taking her hand into his own. She gives him a concerned look and lets him lead her into the lounge. He turns to her after the door closes and holds her hand, while her other hand rests on his hip.

"Doug, what's wrong?" Carol asks. He looks up briefly at her and then glances back down.

"My dad died." Doug says quietly. Carol's mouth drops open for a second but she quickly recovers.

"What happened?" She asks.

"He was in a car wreck out in California." Doug replies. She nods slightly. "I have to go to California to take care of some things." Doug says.

"I'm coming with you." Carol says.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Carol." Doug says.

"You didn't ask. I offered and you can't go by yourself. I'm coming with you." Carol says stubbornly. He smiles slightly.

"Good because I bought two plane tickets." He says. She smiles sadly.

"When do we leave?" She asks.

"At three in the morning." Doug says. Carol knows it is about 9 p.m. now.

"Are you okay?" She asks. He nods slightly and finally looks up into her eyes. Then he pulls her close to him and buries his head into her hair. She wraps one arm around his chest and the other is over his shoulder, supporting his head to her. She runs her fingers through his hair. She rocks him slowly as they stand there for about a minute before they are interrupted by Kerry coming into the lounge.

"Carol." She says, but stops short when she sees them. Doug tenses up but Carol continues to hold him.

"Yes?" Carol asks.

"I..uh need you to sign on some stuff." Kerry says.

"I'll be out in a minute." Carol says. Kerry nods slightly.

"Take your time." Kerry says, and walks out, letting the door fall shut behind her. Carol holds onto Doug for a few more seconds.

"Are you alright?" She asks him again.

"I'm okay." Doug says, pulling away from her and giving her a smile. She smiles back.

"Are you off now?" She asks. He nods.

"I'm off in 2 hours. Would you start to pack up some of my stuff? Just get the bathroom supplies I have on the counter." She says.

"Sure." He says.

"I'll get the rest of my stuff when I get home, okay?" She says.

"Okay." He says quietly.

"I love you, you know that right?" She asks. He nods and smiles.

"I know. I love you too." He says. She smiles and kisses him gently.

"I better get back to work." Carol says, prying herself away from him.

"If I'm not at your apartment when you get home, I'll be at my apartment getting some stuff, but I'm going there now, so I should be at your place by the time you get off. And I also already told Mark about us taking a week off, Kerry might not know yet, but Mark is supposed to tell her." He says.

"Okay. See ya soon." She says, smiling at him and starts to walk out.

"Wait Carol." He says. She turns around.

"Hmm?" She asks.

"Thank you." Doug says. She smiles.

"No problem Doug. I'll see you when I get home." She walks out to the desk and signs the form for Kerry.

"Is he okay?" Kerry asks.

"He'll be fine." Carol says and turns just as Doug walks out of the lounge. She smiles and waves and he smiles, then leaves. Carol turns back to her work.

Carol looks down at her watch.

"59 minutes and 22 seconds left." Carol whispers quietly to herself and sighs. She is anxious to get to Doug.

"What was that?" Kerry asks Carol. Carol turns to her.

"Oh nothing." Carol says, smiling and turning back to her chart.

"Carol...go home." Kerry says. Carol turns around in surprise.

"Oh no Kerry, that's not necessary." Carol says.

"Go on. Mark told me about Doug and I know your anxious to go. So go. We're not too busy." Kerry says. Carol smiles gratefully.

"Thank you Kerry!" Carol says and walks quickly to the lounge, to retriever her stuff, after placing her chart into the correct pile.

"Doug?" Carol calls out, coming into her apartment.

"Back here." Doug calls out to her, from her room. She walks back to the room. "Your early." He says.

"Yeah well after Mark told Kerry what happened and she saw me peeking at my watch and counting down the seconds until I got to come home, she let me go. We weren't busy anyways." She says. He smiles.

"I wasn't arguing." Doug says. She smiles and he grins back at her. He turns to his suitcase and continues packing. She goes over to her drawers and starts to take stuff out. They work along side each other in silence.

"All done." He says a few minutes later. Just then the phone rings. "I'll get it." He says. He walks to the side of her bed and picks up the phone as she continues packing. "Hello?.......Oh hey Mark....we leave at 3......Yes, Carol is coming with me.....I'm fine Mark.....Yes. Carol will be with me, if I need someone. Don't worry about me.......Yes, I know your just trying to be a friend..." Doug says and turns to Carol and rolls his eyes. She giggles. "Okay.......I'll see you in a week then. Bye Mark." Doug says and hangs up. He chuckles as he looks at Carol. She smiles. He walks behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. She leans into him.

"Mark's worried about you huh?" Carol asks.

"Mmm.....Carol, thank you." Doug says. She turns her head towards him.

"For what?" She asks.

"For coming with me." Doug says. She smiles.

"Hey, I get a week off work to be with the man I love. Don't thank me!" Carol says. He chuckles.

"I just.....I need you there to get me through it." He says. She smiles. She is so happy. She never thought she would ever be this lucky, to have a man like him in her life.

"And I'll be here for you." Carol replies. He smiles and squeezes her waist, in appreciation.

"Ahhh....." Carol says, plopping down onto the seat in the airplane beside Doug. He is sitting by the window and she is in the middle seat, leaving the outside seat empty. Doug and Carol sit and talk quietly for a few minutes before someone comes over the intercom.

"Welcome aboard. I am Captain Lawndecker. Please fasten your seatbelts and in a few minutes we will be taking off. The lights will be turned off, but if you need to, there is a light above your seat." He continues on with safety as Doug and Carol half listen. Carol turns to Doug who smiles at her and she smiles nervously at him.

"I hate flying." She says. He chuckles.

"It's okay." He says. He turns to her and as best as he can with the armrest up between them and their seatbelts on, he wraps his arms around her. "Close your eyes." He says quietly.

"Doug." She says, unsure of what he is going to do.

"Trust me, Carol. Now close your eyes." He says. She does so, with a little hesitation. "Now think of some place you feel truly safe. Tell me when you got it." Doug says. She takes a deep breath.

"Got it." She says quietly.

"Now, tell me where you are." Doug says.

"We're in my bed and your holding me in your arms." Carol says. Doug smiles.

"Mmm hmm. Now...keep thinking of that place. Don't take your mind off of it." Doug says. She smiles and snuggles closer to him. He wraps his arms around her as best as he can.

"This is nice." Carol says. He chuckles. The lights turn off.

"Now...open your eyes." Doug says. She does.

"It's dark." She whispers. He chuckles and runs his lips over her forehead. He puts the arm rest, between them, up. She feels him reach down and undo her seatbelt. He takes his off after hers and pulls her closer. She moves her legs so that they are laying over top of his and she is sitting on his lap. She leans her head into his arm pit and he wraps one arm around her waist and the other supporting her back.

"Sweet dreams." He says, kissing her forehead. She sighs happily and he closes his eyes to get to sleep, after checking his glow in the dark watch quickly.

Doug awakens to the sound of the man behind him snoring loudly. Doug smiles to himself. He checks his watch to see he has been asleep for an hour and he groans softly as he realizes his legs are asleep. He tries to move Carol without waking her but doesn't succeed.

"Doug?" She says sleepily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you but my legs are asleep." He whispers.

"Oh sorry." She says, moving. He smiles.

"It's okay." He says. Then he picks her legs up over his arm and lifts her off the seat a little.

"Doug! What are you doing?" She asks, trying to be quiet. He chuckles.

"Hold on. I need to stretch." He says. He moves his legs, straight along the three seats and then moves her into his lap.

"Doug, this cannot be comfortable." She says.

"With you in my arms it always is." Doug whispers. She smiles and snuggles back against him. She just sits in his arms for a few minutes before speaking.

"Doug.....how are you with all this?" She whispers.

"With what?" He asks.

"Your Dad dying and all." Carol says.

"I guess......I'm okay. I hated my Dad but.......he was my Dad. I had to love him, even if it was only a little bit." Doug says. "He.....when he was home and sober he was a good dad. But....that was rare and I learned to hate the man he usually was. It got worse as I got older until he finally left. I've only seen him once since I was 12 years old." Doug says.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Carol says. He smiles and squeezes her waist.

"It wasn't your fault. Don't be sorry." Doug says.

"But I am." Carol says. He smiles into her hair.

"You know......I never thought I would ever need a person as much as I need you." Doug says. Her heart starts to pound deeply in her chest and she smiles.

"That's nice to hear." She says.

"I'm serious, you know that right?" He asks. She slowly nods her head. "What are you thinking?" He asks.

"That.....I never thought I was worth it. My whole life, I've always tried to please other people. With Tony, he always found a way to make me feel like nothing. Even though I went through extensive therapy afterwards, I still felt like I amounted to nothing. You.....you changed that. You make me feel wanted, loved, needed." Carol says.

"And you are." Doug says.

"I don't know how I ever lived without you." Carol says.

"Your my rock, Carol. You keep my strong. You make me feel alive." Doug says. She smiles.

"You don't know how that makes me feel, you saying that." Carol says.

"Yes, I think I do." He says. He kisses her neck. She turns her head slightly and kisses him passionately. She moans slightly through the kiss and he starts to laugh, so he has to pull away. "Sorry." He said.

"It's your fault." She whispers.

"Mine? Why?" Doug asks. She snuggles against his chest.

"I can't ever resist your kiss." She says. He chuckles lightly and murmurs into her ear.

"I can't resist yours either." She smiles and he wraps his arms around her more snugly.

"I love you Doug." She whispers.

"I love you too Carol." Doug says.

"Come on, let's watch them!" Carol says, referring to the slides Doug had found in his father's room. It's the morning after they got there, having passed out into a bed as soon as they got there.

"Do we have to?" Doug whined. She giggled.

"Yes. I can't wait to see you as a little baby." Carol says. He chuckles and she plops down into his lap, making herself comfortable. He gets it started.

"Happy now?" He asks. She snuggles into him.

"Very." She says as the slides begin to roll. She sees him and squeals in delight.

"You are adorable!" Carol says, turning to look at him. He blushes and lowers his head. She giggles.

"That's my dad." He says, referring to the man on the screen, holding him and waving to the camera.

"You look like him." Carol says softly.

"Yeah. I did." Doug says. Then it switches to Doug, walking unsteadily to a woman on the screen. "My mom." Doug says, smiling. Carol smiles.

"You look like a happy baby." Carol says. He smiles.

"Yeah." He says simply.

A little while later, Doug flips off the slides and Carol climbs off his lap. She helps him into a standing position.

"I'm going to go change." She says. He smiles.

"Alright." He says. He stretches and starts to clean up the stuff. He pushes it all into the corner and by the time he is done, she is coming out of the bathroom. He kisses her gently on the lips. "Mmmmm you smell good." He says. She smiles.

"Thank you." She replies sweetly. He kisses her neck softly.

"Can I ask you something?" He says.

"Sure. Go ahead." Carol says.

"Are we going to get married?" Doug asks. She gasps slightly.

"Are you proposing?" She asks, stepping away from him slightly.

"No....I just.....someday....are we?" He asks. She smiles at his nervousness.

"I hope so." She whispers. He smiles and comes closer to her.

"Good, because I could never live without you." He says.

"And we will have tens of thousands of little Doug's like you, running around." She says, pushing him back onto the bed gently. He chuckles and pulls her down onto him. He rolls over so he is on top of her. He kisses her passionately. "Promise me, you will never leave me. Ever." Carol murmurs against his lips.

"I promise with my whole heart and soul." He says. She grins and pulls him down to her, kissing him passionately.

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