“Thanks. I need to go check on Raina.” They watched as Nick jogged back down the hall toward the patient rooms.

“He looks so happy,” Penny observed. “It’s all such an adventure. They’re going to raise her and watch her grow. I bet he’ll be a great dad, too.”

Matt reached in his pocket and pulled out the ring box he’d shoved in his pocket that morning. He’d been planning to propose to her after the party, once dark had fallen and he had a canopy of stars as a backdrop.

Nothing ever went according to plan, and he was perfectly okay with that.

“It is an adventure. I want that with you and everything else, too. I want Christmases and birthdays, fights and frustrations, joys and sorrows. I want to take that adventure with you.”

Penny’s eyes landed on the black box and she covered her mouth with her hand. “Matt? Oh my god.” Her eyes sparkled with tears. “Are you always going to surprise me?”

“I hope so. For the next fifty years at least. After that, things might get a little routine. I can’t make any promises. But it’s up to you. We can go on like we have been or you can take the leap with me.”

Penny shook her head. “You crazy man. Haven’t you learned by now?” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him amid the catcalls of his friends. When they finally broke apart, she pushed his hair back from his forehead tenderly.

“I’ll always choose to leap with you.”

THE END