'Do you love me?' I asked her.
She smiled. 'Yes.'
'Do you want me to be happy?' As I asked her this I felt my heart beginning to reace.
'Of course I do.'
'Will you do something for me then?'
She looked away, sadness crossing her features. 'I don't know if I can anymore'. She said.
'But if you could, would you?' I cannot adequately describe the intensity of what I was feeling at that moment: love, anger, sadness, hope and fear.
Jamie looked at me curiously. Suddenly I knew that I'd never felt as strongly for another person as I did at that moment. As I returned her gaze, this simple realization made me wish for the millionth time that I could make all this go away. Had it been possible, I would have traded my life for hers. I wanted to tell her my thoughts, but the sound of her voice suddenly silenced the emotions inside me.
'Yes' she finally said, her voice weak yet somehow still full of promise. 'I would'.
Finally getting control of myself I kissed her again, then brot my hand to her face, gently running my fingers over her cheek. I marveled at the softness of her skin, the gentleness I saw in her eyes. Even now she was perfect. My throat began to tighten again, but as I said, I knew what I had to do. Since I had to accept that it was not within my power to cure her, what I wanted to do was give her something that she'd wanted. It was what my heart had been telling me to do all along.
I smiled softly, and she returned my affection with a slight squeeze of my hand, as if trusting me in what I was about to do. Encouraged, I leaned closer and took a deep breath. When I exhaled, these were the words that flowed with my breath. 'Will you marry me?'