Wordlessly, Jack took the small black velvet box from Sabrina’s near nerveless fingers and opened it to reveal a three-carat emerald cut ruby flanked by one-carat baguette-cut diamonds set against a platinum band.

“I know the traditional thing is to give a diamond,” he began. “That’s what most men do. Hell, that’s what most women want. But you’re not most women.” Shaking his head, he reached out to cup her face, sweeping his thumb across her cheek. “Not by a long shot. The things that I love about you – how you’re fearless and impulsive; your fire – and even that cool, aloof, detached thing you can do that sometimes drives me crazy. The goal was to give you a ring that somehow spoke to all those parts of you.” A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “That was what I was going for.”

“You succeeded,” was her near breathless reply. “You get me,” she whispered. “You really do.”

“Pick a date.” Jack shifted until he was gazing down at Sabrina.

“Huh?”

“Pick a date,” he said, slowly enunciating each word.

Sabrina’s brain had no trouble processing what was taking place. Her heart, however, was having trouble catching on. Or was refusing to. “Date. For. What?”

“To marry me.”

Sabrina slowly sat up, trying her best to resist the urge to put distance between them. “You’re…serious?”

“Never been more in my life.”

“Marriage. With…me?”

“No, Bri. With the two-headed seal down at the Aquarium. Of course, with you!”

“I…I honestly don’t know what to say.”

“Tell you what. How about I help you out?” He removed the ring from the case and—in a nod to her Russian heritage—slowly, reverently slid it on the ring finger of her right hand. “You’re fluent in five languages; when you hear the one that connects the dots for you, let me know…”

With a deliberateness that was both mesmerizing and frightening, Jack held Sabrina’s gaze as he repeated the lone answer he sought; the entire time, his fingers lightly traced the contours of her mouth.

“Yes. Si. Oui. Ja. Vαί.”

Sabrina, eyes glistening, slowly nodded her head. “Vai,” she murmured as Jack’s lips claimed hers. “Vai.”

“Why do you find it so hard to believe I want a life with you?” he asked as he broke off the kiss. “That I want to spend the rest of mine with you, Bri?”

“Because I’m a Cassadine..” She exhaled as the admission tumbled out, making no attempt to wipe away the tears threatening to spill forth. “We…don’t…get this. Happy is not included in the package.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. I used to believe that; felt that way for a helluva long time.”

“What changed?”

Jack raised Sabrina’s right hand to his lips and grazed its back with a whisper soft kiss. His gaze found hers and he said softly, “I met you.”

She was experiencing what felt like a thousand emotions at once, all of them some variant of elation, yet she still found it all so unbelievable. “So…we’re really gonna do this? Are you sure about this, Jack?” Briefly, a flash of agony danced across her beautiful features. “Even knowing that…I…I can’t have children?”

Jack was in no way immune to the pain that drenched her words.

Since their reconciliation they had not fully discussed Sabrina’s inability to conceive. This much he had gleaned, surprisingly, her infertility was not the result of a malicious act at the hand of family or even a Cassadine enemy, but rather could be attributed to genetics. Something about infertility being an issue on her mother Celeste’s side of the family. Armed with that morsel of information, Jack made the deliberate choice not to push the issue, acknowledging it as yet another sign of his lover’s willingness to show she was fully committed to their relationship; that even when it was uncomfortable, Sabrina would share all of herself with him.

Even those things that frightened and hurt her most.

“We can adopt,” came his simple, deeply heartfelt answer. “And yeah, we are,” he nodded. “We really are gonna do this.”

“So. . .no reservations about the children thing?” The query was tinged with awe and wonder. “Just...like…that…you wanna marry me?”

“Yeah, just like that,” he repeated, mimicking her slow delivery.

“Well, I think it’s definitely safe to say this effectively means no more running for me, huh?” She dabbed at her eyes.

“Exactly. I want to make sure you know where things stand, Bri. Where they’re headed.”

“No more running,” she nodded. “I know that this is meant to be. That this is… real.”

“I know you do, Babe. So does Viktor.” At that moment Jack wished he had a camera to capture Sabrina’s look of shock; it was truly priceless. “Yeah, I went to your father and asked for his blessing,” he replied, answering the question reflected in her disbelieving dark orbs. “As well as the Prince, Nikolas,” he added. “And Stefan. And Andresj’.”

“Oh, Jack Bauer!” she marveled as she cupped his face, claiming his lips once again for a resounding kiss. “To run such a gauntlet? You must really love me! How can I ever make this up to you?”

“Marry me and we’ll call it even.”