Disclaimer: I own the twins. I own the concept. Marvel owns everything else.

I have returned from my long grounding! No seriously, that's the reason that this is so late. Another thing, this story is told half from Sam's view and half from Tabitha's. I couldn't decided who got to tell the story since you needed to see both sides. So Sam narrates in 'Question' and Tabitha takes over in 'Answer'. Hope you enjoy!

Question

Ah swallow hard as Ah feel Tabitha stiffen in mah arms. Ah knew Ah was movin' to fast! Ah knew Ah should have waited�

"Um, did you just say what I thought you said?" Tabitha whispers, pulling herself into a sitting position.

Ah fidget nervously and then look into Tabitha's eyes. "Ah just asked you if you would be mah wife. Will you?"

Tabitha looks down at me with wide blue eyes and Ah can tell that she is surprised. She bites her lip for a long second and doesn't meet mah eyes.

"Tabitha?" Ah ask, sitting up.

She doesn't look at me. Slowly she pulls herself out of our bed and reaches for her bathrobe. She pulls it around her beautiful body and walks towards the window.

"Tabitha?" Ah ask again, mah voice sounding pleading, desperate, even to me.

"I�don't know." She whispers, staring out at the moonlight falling on the desert outside.

"If'n ya need more time�"Ah whisper, looking down at mah hands.

"I don't know, Sam. I just don't know." Tabitha sounds dangerously close to tears.

"Tabby, honey�" Ah start, pulling mahself out of our bed and walking to her.

"Sam�" She whispers, looking up at me with these huge blue eyes. Ah feel mah heartbeat quicken as Ah stare into those depthless oceans of blue. Ah reach out and lay mah hand on the side of her face, rubbing mah finger across her jawbone.

She leans into mah hand for a second, then jerks away, and runs toward the door. Ah reach out for her, mah voice frozen in my throat.

"Tabitha!" Ah call finally. She freezes in the doorway, her hand resting lightly on the doorframe. She turns around and gazes at me with her beautiful stricken eyes.

"Please�" She breaths, her lips barely formin' the words. Ah see it, and lower mah hand, mah body beginning to shake all over.

"Ah love you." Ah finally whisper hoarsely.

"I love you so much." Tabitha replies, and then leaves. Ah stare after her for a long second, mah heart thuddin' in mah ears.

Slowly Ah turn from the doorway, and sink down onto the bed, droppin' mah head into mah hands. Ah sigh deeply, and sniff as a tear rolls down the side of mah face. Oh, Tabitha, mah love. What have Ah done?

Just four little words. One question. That's all it took to make her run from mah arms again. Just one damn question!

Ah rise to mah feet, and blindly slam mah hand against the wall, hitting it again and again until the pain in mah hand matches the one in mah heart.

Ah look down at mah hand after Ah finally stop. It's swollen and bleeding, and a few of the joints are bent at weird angles.

Ah'm beyond caring. The pain feels good, better than mah heart, nearly shattered in mah chest. Ah slowly slip to the ground and lean mah head against our dresser drawers.

Our dresser drawer. Our bed. Our team. Our children. It's amazing how many things are 'ours'.

If Ah lose her, what will there be left of me? An empty shell, a man with no more love, and no heart. Ah've given all mah love, all mah heart to Tabitha.

"Sam?" A groggy voice asks from the doorway. Ah wheel around hoping and praying it's Tabitha, but Ah know it ain't. Mah best friend, Bobby DaCosta, was standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face.

"Hi Bobby." Ah whisper, turning mah face from him.

"What happen?" He asks, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Ah realize that he must have just woken up.

"Nothin'." Ah shake mah head, still not looking at him.

Bobby turns his head from side to side, probably lookin' for Tabitha. When he doesn't see her, he asks, "Where's Tabitha? I haven't seen her all day."

"We had a fight, and she left." Ah finally turn to look at 'Berto. His eyes are wide with surprise. "But she came back." Ah add quickly.

"Then where is she?" Bobby asks.

"She ran away again." Ah can feel mah control starting to break. Ah slip mah head into mah hands, mah elbows resting on mah knees.

"Why?" Bobby wants to know, still confused Ah'm sure.

Ah shake mah head, tears rolling down mah cheeks. Ah hear Bobby pad across the room to where Ah'm sitting and look up into his concerned eyes.

"Sam?" He asks, his voice worried. Come to think of it, Ah don't think he's ever seen me cry like this.

"Ah love her so much." Is all Ah can make mah mouth say, as Ah rock back and forth, sobs racking my body. Bobby just lays a hand on mah shoulder, looking at me in concern. Then he notices mah hand.

"What happened?" He demands, examining it.

"Nothin'." Ah whisper, pulling it close to mah body. Ah hear him sigh, then rise to his feet.

"I'll be back, my friend." He says firmly, already walking toward the door. I don't hear him leave.

Tabitha, mah love, mah light, please come back to me, Ah want to scream. But Ah don't. Ah simply sit where Ah am, and wish with all mah heart that by some miracle, she comes back to me. That's all Ah can do, is wish.

The ball's in your court, mah love.

Answer

I stare up at the moon. It's full tonight. The entire world is lit in its fairy tale light, gleaming silvery and pale. Tonight would be a good night to be with the one you love.

I love Samuel Zachary Guthrie. I have since I first laid eyes on him, the day New York went mad during Inferno. I've loved him through the fight in Asgard, Genosha, finding out he was immortal, the fight with the X-Men.

The one constant in my life is that I love him. He's my entire world, everything I've ever had or needed. Now I'm having his children, and he's ask me to marry him.

Then why aren't I jumping for joy? It's everything and more than I have ever dreamed of.

Because, I say to my self, I don't know if he loves me.

The fight that brought all this up was stupid. Most fights are, when you think about them. And he never said, "Tabitha, Ah don't love you."

Then why am so dead set in believing he doesn't? Why don't I leap at the chance to marry him? It would be what I wanted; we could be together for the rest of our lives.

I know why. I can't believe that he loves me. And, no matter how happy I was, he would be miserable. And I couldn't live like that. I couldn't live with the man I love being miserable all his life, because his sense of honor forced him to marry me.

I stifle a sob as I sink down on the warm desert sand. I pull my legs up close to my face and lay my forehead against my knees. Hot tears spilled down my cheeks, and I rock myself back and forth gently.

Suddenly, a hand touches my shoulder. I look up, hoping and dreading that it was Sam. It wasn't.

"Go away, Bobby." I mutter to Sam's best friend, turning to look out over the desert again.

"No. Not until you tell me why Sam woke me up when he broke his hand by slamming it repeatedly into the wall." Bobby demanded, slipping easily to the ground next to me.

I look out over the desert for a long time, saying nothing. But Bobby doesn't go away. He just sits there, waiting for me to answer him. Finally I draw in a breath and look up at him.

"Sam asked me to marry him." I tell Bobby. He looks at me in confusion, cocking his head to one side.

"And this is a bad thing?" He asks me, confused.

"Yes!" I sob as I push myself to my feet. I'm not too good at leaping anymore.

"Why?" Bobby asks.

"Because he doesn't love me!" I weep, wrapping myself up in my own arms.

Bobby snorts loudly. I turn to look at him, annoyed despite myself. He quickly pushes himself to his feet.

"Tabitha," He begins, " I've know Sam a long time. Longer than you. Longer than anybody else on this team. I also know him. I know him as well as you do, and in some ways better. I've seen the way he looks at you. He LOVES you, Boomer. More then I have ever known him to love anybody else, excluding his family."

"You don't--" I try to cut in, but he just keeps talking.

"He worships you. He has since the day he laid eyes on you." Bobby tells me, laying a strong hand on my shoulder.

"He doesn't--" I try again, only to be cut off once more.

"Yes, he does. Ask Rahne. Ask Ric. Hell, you could probably ask Shatterstar or Feral! Tabitha, Sam truly loves you. He would and will do anything for you. Trust me. Trust him. But more than that, trust yourself."

With those final words, Bobby takes his hand off my shoulder and then walks away. I stare after him in shock. Did I just here those words come out of the mouth of Bobby DaCosta, Magnum PI addict?

I shake my head in wonder, and turn to walk toward our bedroom. I know what my answer has to be now.

When I get to the room, I find Sam sitting against the dresser drawer, his head propped up against it. His eyes are bloodshot and there are dried tears stains on his face. His right hand is resting on his knee, and from the dim light, it looks like it is black and blue and already swollen. I swallow hard, and step into the room.

"Sam?" I croak out, putting a hand on my stomach. He looks up, and his eyes light up.

"Tabitha�" He whispers, trying to get to his feet.

I smile shakily at him and nod. He stands there for a moment, trying to comprehend.

"What?" He barely breathes, still confused.

"Yes. Yes." I try to make more words come out, but my lips are frozen.

He looks down at the ground and then back up at me. "Yes, you'll marry me?"

I nod, and whisper, "If the offer still st--"

He wraps his arms around me tightly, sobbing joyously into my hair and nearly squeezing all the air out of me. I cling to him as hard, tears of happiness slipping down my face.

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