This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I parked my car in my driveway. It was good to be out of the hospital but lonely as Emilia wasn't with me. As she still needed a little more time to recover and then Game of Thrones still had to finish its upcoming season, she wasn't able to be with me now. I had to hold onto the truth that she was going to be home soon. I had to constantly remind myself that my last memory of her wouldn't be in a hospital bed.
Shouldn't I have stayed with her like she had with me? No, I had to get her ring without her knowing and now was the perfect time to do that. What other time could I so easily get away from her to look and not have her grow suspicious at all?
The moment my hands unlocked and opened the door all the energy seemed to drain out of my body. While in the hospital and traveling, my appearance had been strong even while in pain. But now I didn't have to feign any emotion so I shut the door and slumped onto the floor. Emilia was safe and would be fine. It was her who had reassured me that it was okay for me to leave. She wouldn't have done that if she truly needed me with her.
I sat with my back against the door for awhile as there was no reason for me to move quickly. It was a few hours until I usually went to sleep and there wasn't any urgent matter that required my attention. The only reason I finally moved was my body was becoming extremely uncomfortable.
It felt like my body was moving on its own more than I was walking. Somehow I managed to make it up the stairs and put my luggage on my bed. Then I sat on the edge and looked at the clock. In around thirty minutes I'd be able to call Emilia. The day after she'd woken up she had made various phone calls to her friends and family. She was probably busy either with nurses or talking with her friends. She had a life outside me and I was grateful for that. After we were married I'd need time apart from her and she from me. Plus we had our careers we'd need to focus on.
How could I make my proposal as memorable to her as possible? There had to be a way to make it so that she'd have a sweet story to tell our children. What would be their names? How many would we have? In any case I'd be more than happy when she gave birth to them. But wouldn't it be hard to have sex with children in the house? We'd have to be strategic and time things so the kids were out of the house when we made love. How did my parents get me out of the house when they wanted to ****?
I looked at the clock and raced to take out my cellphone. I looked through my address book to find the hospital's number. After taking a deep breath I called Emilia and waited for her to pick up. She was probably taking her medication or being bathed.
"Iain?" Emilia asked right as I was about to give up.
"Yes," I replied. "I arrived home a little while ago. It doesn't feel like home without you."
"I'll be home soon. I'm getting physical therapy twice a day."
"It still feel like torture?"
"Yeah, but at least I'll be out of here soon. I'm jealous that you got to leave this hell."
"The true torture won't start until you start to film again. You'll be expected to give an award winning performance even though you're not fully healed."
"I am very much not looking forward to that part."
Emilia laughed and I laughed with her. It was good to hear her laugh even if I was a great distance away. She would survive this and become stronger than ever before. And one day in the near future she would walk down the aisle into my arms for all eternity. Or as much eternity as a man was afforded.
"Ow!" Emilia said and stopped laughing. "It hurts to laugh."
"Are you in too much pain?" I asked worriedly.
"I'm feeling a lot better than before. I think in a few days I'll be able to take a shower by myself."
"You don't know how freeing it is when you can do even one thing on your own again."
"Oh, I already know because someone wouldn't shut up about taking a shower for five days."
"I did, didn't I?"
I let out a chuckle as I recalled my joy at being trusted to take a shower alone. It was such a simple activity and yet I felt more freedom doing it than I had in my entire life. And, yeah, I didn't shut up about it for awhile. My love had been a good sport in not reprimanding me about the joy I had found.
"At least I'm not being stressed out by you anymore." Emilia teased.
"I hope you're feeling relaxed." I said.
"I'm not. The thing stressing me out is if I'll still be able to act like before."
"Emilia, you'll always be able to act no matter the odds."
"I can't learn any new techniques by the time I have to get back to work on the show."
"And you won't have to. The doctors will be able to fix you to what you were like before."
"I trust you saying that more than the doctors."
I heard Emilia talking to a nurse or doctor. Minutes passed as the two discussed my love's current status. If the conversation was going to be a long one then she would hang up with me. I didn't mind as she needed to focus on her health more than my feelings.
"I'm sorry, Iain," Emilia finally said. "They're going to run another test to make sure I'm recovering like I'm supposed to be."
"I'll talk to you later, my love." I replied and she hung up.
The moment she hung up I fell asleep. When I woke my body was in pain. It took awhile for the pain to slowly subside. Once I felt normal I took a shower and smiled. I was taking a shower in my own house with no one helping me. There was no nurse in the shower with me and no one standing outside making sure of my safety. This shower was a thing all my own.
Even after I had finished washing myself, I allowed the water to roll down my body. I allowed steam to build up in the bathroom as I just stood there. Soon I could take a shower with Emilia or allow her to experience washing alone. What a feeling of freedom this was!
As I dried myself off I thought about the kind of ring to get her. Didn't it have to have a diamond? And what price would be right? I didn't want her to think that I cared for her less than I did. But what was the right price for that? What was the formula?
Upon putting pants on I realized I could call my co-stars. One of them had to know what was a good ring for Emilia. So I took my phone and looked at my address book. I should only ask women as they would know best. Right?
"Iain?" Lena's voice asked as I started up my computer. "Are you alright?"
"Now I am." I replied and leaned back in my chair. "Emilia should be out of the hospital soon. I'm...um...actually calling you about something else."
"I'll do my best."
"I'm looking for a ri-"
I had to hold the phone some distance away to be able to hear. The next few minutes were full of Lena being in utter excitement and telling me everything she know about engagement rings. She gave me her own equation of how much I should buy on a ring as well as good places to shop for one.
"Thank you." I said as I finished writing everything on a notepad that was close by.
"When are you going to ask her?" Lena asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I just want a ring picked out for her before she comes back home."
"If you need my help proposing just ask."
"I will."
Okay, that was one opinion but I needed more. I browsed my address book randomly and my eyes focused on Sophie's number. We hadn't talked much so how I had gotten her number confused me. Never mind that now, I just needed her opinion.
"Sophie?" I asked.
"Iain?" She replied. "How are you doing? It's Iain!"
"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you."
"Nah, you aren't. It's just Maisie hanging out with me for the day. So how are you doing?"
"I'm recovering. I wanted to ask your opinion about what ri-"
Sophie screeched in excitement like Lena had which caused me to hold the phone far from my ear until she was finished. Then I had to hold it away yet again as she told her friend and resumed screeching.
"Hang on, I'm putting you on speaker phone." Sophie said.
"We were wondering when the two of you would get married." Maisie said. "You should've proposed to her ages ago."
"I probably should have." I replied and my mind went back to the pub. "I think I was just too frightened before. She is my first real girlfriend."
"Oh, yeah, you were a manwhore before." Sophie said with a laugh.
"It was a pleasant lifestyle for awhile."
I had enjoyed going from woman to woman. It had felt good to find myself free to do as I wanted without being bound in a relationship. I'd find one woman and then **** her until I needed something new in my life. Some form of excitement that the last woman couldn't give me. But what woman could ever compare to Emilia?
"I bet." Maisie chuckled. "So when are you going to ask her?"
"I don't know yet." I replied. "I want it to be special so we can tell our children."
"Oh my god! You really talked to her about kids?"
"The topic did come up a few times."
The next hour was full of Sophie and Maisie both giving their opinion on what kind of ring Emilia would like. Although they all hadn't yet acted together, the three had talked with each other. As they were close to my girlfriend's age, it was only natural that they should hang out every now and again.
Unfortunately the pair became distracted when the subject of past adventures with Emilia came up. I think our conversation could've been fifteen minutes long if we had only discussed which ring I should buy. But, then again, it wouldn't have been as much fun. My future fiance wasn't coming home too soon and so there was still enough time to surprise her.
"I think I can get the ring today." I said as I looked at a web page.
I had compared what Lena, Sophie, and Maisie had suggested. While their opinions had differed in some places, they had all agreed in others. The ring I was looking at was expensive enough. As per all of their suggestions, though, I also had tabs opened to other rings.
"Are you sure you shouldn't ask her what kind of ring she wants?" Sophie asked.
"I know her." I replied with a smile. "Though I don't think she really cares about the ring. What she really cares about is that I'm making the ultimate commitment to her. I just have to make sure the ring looks good enough."
"You'll have to send us pictures of the proposal." Maisie demanded.
"I might propose to her on the show, so you and everyone else will have video of the event." I replied.
"Good luck, Iain." Sophie said.
"Thank you."
With that I hung up and figured out the easiest way to get to the jewelry store before printing a list of the rings. I raced getting dressed and nearly broke the speed limit to get to Lily's. The thought of me on bended knee holding out a ring to Emilia with her eyes filled with happy tears gave me a sense of purpose I never thought possible. Soon I'd ask her and she'd say yes.
I parked my car and looked at the small building. It was a lovely shade of green except for the white doors that had stained glass of lilies. Before opening my door I calmed myself down. No one would recognize me and I'd be able to keep the secret from Emilia. There wouldn't be anyone that would take pictures of me with their phone.
"Iain Glen?" One of the employees asked once I entered.
I groaned inwardly. She had recognized me instantly. Luckily there was only her and one other employee that wasn't paying any attention to us. He looked like he was about to fall asleep and so hadn't heard her.
"I want to keep this private." I whispered to her. "I don't want my visit here making the news."
"Of course." The employee said with a large smiled. "What can I help you with?"
I took out the paper I had printed earlier. It scared me how wide her smile got. Through the years I had figured out when someone was trying to pretend to like me due to my celebrity status and when someone actually liked my company. This woman was the latter. It might be that I was making her happier than she had been in awhile.
"You're going to propose to Emilia?" The woman asked. "I'm not just dreaming this?"
"You can see why I want to keep this a secret." I said. "When I propose to her I want it to be a surprise."
"I totally understand."
I was blessed with silence as the woman found the rings I was looking for. Three of the five rings were silver with a decent sized diamond in the center. Another had an opal in the center. The final ring was a little thicker than the rest with an intricate design of dragons with eyes of diamonds and a large opal in the center. How could I choose any ring but the one with the dragons?
"Which one do you think I should choose?" I asked.
"As someone whose job it is to make Lily's money, I'd suggest the one with the dragons." The woman said with a large grin. "And as someone who ships Jorlessi, I'd suggest the one with the dragons."
Jorlessi? That must mean she liked the idea of my character and Emilia's getting together. Of course she'd be excited about me proposing to Emilia. If the show wouldn't show her pairing then at least she could edit the photos of my life to fit her fantasy.
"I think we have a version where the dragons are colored." The woman said. "Do you want me to double check?"
"No, it's perfect as is." I replied.
The dragons looked ethereal just like Emilia. Just like her they were powerful even while looking like they could easily break. The woman quickly put my chosen ring into a box and I paid. To prepare for anything unforeseen in the future, I bought the warranty.
"Will you be filming the proposal?" The woman asked.
"I'm not sure yet." I replied as I opened the door. "I guess you just have to wait."
"Okay!"
Once I was driving back to my house I yelled out at the top of my lungs. This was actually happening. I would actually be proposing to Emilia in the near future. Would she like the ring? Of course she would. The role of Dany meant so much to her and was her biggest role yet. People had named their children Khaleesi. Of course she'd want to be reminded of her role as well as where we met. The show we were both in when we kissed for the first time.
I pulled up into my driveway and sat in the car for a few minutes with a large grin on my face. There on the other seat was Emilia's engagement ring. When we searched for wedding rings she'd be with me. It would feel magical having her shop for rings with me.
I picked up the bag and raced into the house. After searching the house for some time I found a place it was unlikely that Emilia would look. It took around thirty minutes before I was satisfied that I had hid the ring well enough. With a smile on my face I went into my bedroom and took off my clothes before going under the covers.
It was frightening being in my bed because I kept flashing back to the hospital. Being in that place had made me feel helpless. But I was tired now and needed to sleep. Resting anywhere else would most likely mean my body would feel it had been beaten up once I woke up.
Once my eyes closed there was only one thing I could dream about. Emilia and I were walking on a beach as the sun was setting. The thick salty air blew through our hair as we held each other's hands. Our silence wasn't disturbing as being a couple meant we could still be deeply connected even though we were quiet.
Without warning I knelt in front of Emilia and she covered her mouth when I pulled a small black box from my pocket. Tears were pouring from both our eyes as I asked her to marry me. She couldn't say anything so just nodded and I put the ring on her finger. We kissed deeply as the gulls cried in the distance and the waves lapped at the shore.
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