Without you.

Part 9 - new beginnings

Willow woke to the fragrant smell of bacon wafting from the small kitchen.  She could hear the sounds of pots and pans as Rem's soft voice drifted to ears as he sang along to the radio.  Stretching lazily she swung her legs from under the covers and  padded quietly into the bathroom.   Her eyes lit up as she saw a cute little lipstick heart on the mirror, drawn with her own lipstick.  Giggling she ran a brush though her hair, returned to the bedroom to put on some soft flannel pajama pants and followed the smell of food into the kitchen.  Rem turned around with a happy grin on his face.

"  Good afternoon sleepy head. "  

"  Afternoon?  is it that late. "    Her eyes went to the golden square of window that faced the street. 

"  Don't you have a show to do tonight? "   She nibbled on some toast, sipped her coffee and rubbed her belly. 

"  Yeah,  You want to come with?  I really want you to hear the new music live. " 

"  Is that a good idea? "  

"  Why wouldn't it be?  "   Rem, booped her nose as he placed eggs and bacon onto her plate. He continued to hum and dance around the kitchen, making willow giggle.

" Ummm...You tell me.  Your fans can be pretty brutal...."    She had been taking heat for Emerson's death from the moment it came out that he was gone.  She couldn't even fathom what they would say when they found out that she was sleeping with his brother.

"  Fuck em.   I don't care what people think.   Haven't we all been though enough?  We both know that nothing we could do would have stopped it from happening.  I tried, Seb tried, mom tried. "  He trailed off as he began to clean up.  

Tears splashed her plate as Willow began to cry.  She pushed away from the table, stumbling away as the tears blinded her.  She got halfway to the bathroom when Rem's strong arms wrapped around her shoulders.  He pulled her into his arms, whispering soft soothing words of comfort.  "  Don't cry Will. You didn't do anything wrong.  We can't stay stuck in misery.  We have to keep going forward for Emerson and for the baby. "  

"  Please don't try to make it better.  It's never going to be better Rem, I'm always going to be the girl that ruined everything! "   

"  You did nothing wrong.  I love you. "    

He turned her around so he could kiss her nose and dry her tears.  He stroked her hair and took both her hands in his.  "  I have wanted to say this to you for so long and I wanted to wait but I can't.  Willow, Will you marry me? "    He bent down on one knee and held out the ring he had been keeping in his pocket.  

"  Are you crazy! "   Willow sobbed into her hands.   

"  Just say yes. "    He slipped the ring onto her finger.  "  Let's give them something to be mad about. "   

"  Yes. "    She was hugging him and crying like crazy.  They stayed that way for a long time, until she needed to pee or risk having an accident.   The baby felt like it was doing somersaults inside her belly and it made her laugh. 

"  I have to go.  You come when your ready.  "   He hugged and kissed her one last time before he pulled on a shirt and grabbed his coat.  "   I can send a car when your ready. "   

In a state of shock, Willow watched Remington get into his Uber.  She didn't know what she should be feeling.   Her emotions were all over the place.  She wanted to be happy and that made her feel guilty.  She took a long hot bath before getting ready to go to the show. She couldn't stop looking at the ring and grinning like mad.  She made sure to eat a light dinner and was soon standing on the corner waiting for the car that had been sent to pick her up.  It was going to be a long night.