A fancy, five star restauraunt that normally has tables booked a couple months to a year in advance.

 A reservation was made for a Jack and Penny, the table the one with the best view, and there would be soft music playing for them when they arrived.

Jack stepped out of the limo first taking Penny by the hand to help her out of the car before leading her inside. He had to work to keep his expression impassive as they entered the lavish restaraunt. {{This place is Fancy}} Waiting in line he stepped up to the hostess. "Hi, We should have a reservation, name would be Pride..."

  The hostess said "I have a reservation here for a Jack and Penny Pride, if you'll please follow me?"  There was going to be no waiting, no standing around, and the table she headed for had the best view in the place.  A string quartet was playing soft waltz music as they approached, and there was a small dance floor they could dance on.

  Penny said softly "It sounds like it's very fancy.  Makes more sense why I am wearing a Paris original then, doesn't it?"

Jack held the chair out for Penny before seating himself. {Would you like to use my eyes so you can see the place? Or I could just show you how beautiful you look}}

  She nodded, and said "Yes, please?  I know it will feel very strange."  He could feel her very gently 'take over' receiving his visual feed.  He could still see, but he got a sense of having a 'lens' between him and the world.  She smiled, and said softly "The dress is far prettier than the one wearing it, love.  But the reflection I catch with you in it looks handsome as could be."

"I think we're going to have to agree to disagree there. But I won't lie that I am quite dashing." He said with a grin.

  She let him have his eyes back, and he saw one hand start at her throat, and slide down the bare skin that the plunging neckline left revealed as she said softly "Even though they're gone, I still feel them in memory.  Every one of those lines, not on my flesh, but in my soul, love.  I am so blessed you don't have to look at that ugliness any more."  She caressed his cheek with her other hand, and let him feel through the link how happy she was to look beautiful for him.

"You are beautiful inside and out Penny. I loved you before I even knew what you looked like. I'm just glad I can make you happy."

  She smiled, and said softly "You are worth enduring it all, Jack my love.  As long as you love me, I could endure it all over again, so long as you would be there loving me when it was done."  He could feel the sincerity of her words, telling him how much he meant to her.

He took her hand in his squeezing it gently. "Thats never happening again. I'll die before I let that happen to you."

  Penny shook her head, and said softly "Oh no.  You're not allowed to die, Jack.  Without you . . . there wouldn't be anything worth keeping.  I think I'd do that again, and it would all be gone."  He had a glimmering of what that was.  She'd make everything in her mind gone again.  He knew she MUST have done it before . . . but she hadn't since she'd met him.

"He's not going to hurt you again Penny. He tries and I... I'll kill him. And after all he's done, I'll enjoy it...."

  She ran her fingers gently through his hair, and said softly "He's not worthy of your hate.  He's like a rabid dog, sick.  There is no cure but death for him, and you do not need to sully your hands with his blood.  I'd far rather have your hands holding me close . . . .and making me feel like I am beautiful as only you can."

He nodded squeezing her hand again. "Your right, I'm sorry. I just tend to get carried away when I think about what happened."

  She chuckled, and said softly "No need to apologize, love.  I am here.  I love you.  You love me.  And we will spend the rest of our lives together.  Because you are the only one I will ever love."

"I will always be here for you. No matter what. The fires of hell couldn't keep me away from you. I love you."

  Penny smiled, and said "And I love you.  I think I fell in love with you when you promised to be my knight in shining armor, and defend me forever against anyone who wanted to hurt me."

Jack nodded as he held tight to Penny's hand. He remembered that night well. It was the night after they had found his mother Jack was a mess lost and unsure of what to do. They had broken into an abandoned building and as he was setting up the bedding she asked if she could sleep with him. As upset as he was he didn't want to be alone either. In the middle of the night he woke up having to use the bathroom. As he was relieving himself he heard the sound of screams. That was when he promised her, to protect her to his dying breath. "I don't know if there was a particular moment for me. Just, seeing all that had been done to you and the fact that you didn't give up. That you clung to yourself. Your stronger than you give yourself credit for."

  Penny rose, tugging him up to dance, and leaned her head on his chest as she said "Not as strong as you are."

He stood with her moving nervously to the dance floor. "Well yeah, but I wouldn't be much of a knight if you had to save ME all the time."

  Penny snuggled into his chest, and began to sway in time to the music, making it a slow waltz.  She said softly "Well, we're sort of a brains and brawn team, you're the brawn, I'm the brainpower."

"Also the pretty face." {{And so much more than that}} He smiled as he swayed with her holding her tight against him.

  Penny cuddled into his chest, and whispered "As long as I have my knight in shining armor, I'll be happy."

He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be here for you Penny, always, the hordes of hell couldn't tear me away from you"

  Penny laughed softly, and said "You're so sweet.  I love you, Jack Pride."  She hugged him, even as the waiters were bringing the appetizers, shrimp cocktail and salad.

"And I you, Penny Pride. For now and always." He glanced over at the table. "Looks like the appetizers are here, you want to start eating? Or would you rather dance a while longer?"

  She cuddled into his chest, and said "Dance a little longer."

He smiled and rested his cheek on the top of her head as they swayed in time to the music.

  Penny smiled, and said softly "Oh, this really, truly feels like a little slice of heaven.  Held in your arms and dancing . . . "

He smiled. "Good, you deserve all the heaven you can get with the hell you had to go through." He continued to hold her tight as they danced.

  Penny smiled, and tugged him down for a kiss that was in no way chaste, and promised him things that he knew would rock his world when the time came.

Jack lifted one hand to carress her face as she kissed him. {{Your worth waiting for.}}

  She threaded her hand into his hair, and whispered {{When . ..  when the time comes . . . when I am ready . . .I promise . . .love . . . you will not be sorry.}}

"You take all the time you need Penny. Your worth waiting for, and this is still nice." He whispered in her ear as they continued to dance together. "You ready to eat?"

  Penny slowly let the kiss break, and said "Yes, I'm ready to eat.  This night just feels magical so far, you know?  Like we're getting wishes granted."

"This is a night we'll never forget." He said as he took her by the hand and led her off the dance floor and back towards their table holding out her seat before taking the one across from her.

  Penny smiled, and said happily "It is a wonderful one.  You and I and the music and the food.  I keep expecting the shoe to drop.}}

"Just focus on the moment between us, and trust that I'll protect you from anything gone wrong." He said as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

  Penny smiled, and said softly "I am. But did we remember to ask the waiter to cut my steak up for me?"

"If not, I can always do it for both of us. I don't mind."

  Penny smiled, and said softly "Thank you.  You are so sweet to me, Jack.  I am so damn lucky you found me."

"We're lucky we found eachother Penny. If I didn't have you, everything that happened, the torture, my mother, it would have broke me. YOU gave me a reason to press on."

  She smiled, and said softly "By ourselves, we are weak.  Together, we are strong."

He smiled at her. "Indeed we are. And its our love that makes us strong."

  Penny smiled, and said softly "Our love makes us strong.  Together."

"Together forever. Till death do us part." He smiled at her letting go of her hand so he could start eating.
This message was last updated by the player at 06:31, Wed 16 May 2012.

  She could eat salad one handed, and she was.  Holding his hand with her other.  She didn't want to let go of his hand.  It felt too good.

Finding his hand being held hostage Jack relented and also began eating his salad with one hand.

  Penny giggled between bites, and told him, mentally {{You're so sweet, what with what I put you through.}}

He smiled at her as he continued eating. {{How could I not be with a girl like you? And after all we had to deal with having to eat with one hand is a walk in the park."

  Penny smiled, and said "I love you.  Time spent with you is always well spent."

He brought her hand to his mouth kissing it gently. "Theres no place I'd rather be right now, then here, with you."

  Penny smiled, and said "I think that goes both ways.  I'd never want to be away from you, no matter what.  And with you, I am strong enough to endure anything."  She caressed his cheek lovingly.

He smiled kissing her hand again. "I never want to be without you either Penny. I love you, I may have lost a lot, but I've gained so much more."

  Penny smiled, and squeaked when they sat her plate in front of her.  She hadn't expected them to come so fast!!  But she was glad the entree was there.  "Would you please, love?"  She tapped the plate edge, indicating what.

"Sure, I'm gonna need both hands though." He said with a smirk as he took her plate and began slicing the steak into small pieces for her.

  Penny let go of his hand, and said softly "I think today is one of the best days of my life.  I know of a couple more that will be. . .  even better."

He smiled at her as he finished cutting her steak and placed it in front of her. "Whats important is, we have eachother, through both the good and the bad. And yes there are some, events, I'm looking forward to."

  Penny smiled, and said softly "You know, I'm looking forward to a wedding with you.  Just so that everyone knows you're MY man, and I'm YOURS.  That I never want anyone else, until death claims one of us."

"I am too. I'm Meg's gardener now so whatever we don't need is going away for your perfect fairytale wedding. That an you know what I don't use to spoil you rotten in the meantime."

  Penny blushed, and said softly "This is going to sound dumb.  I don't know what to do, other than make vows, at a wedding.  I don't . . . . I don't remember."  That last was very quiet, almost ashamed sounding.  She didn't have a 'fairytale wedding dream', because she didn't even recall how they went.  Which, well, she couldn't SEE one anymore anyway.

Jack frowned. It wasn't like he could plan the wedding HIMSELF. It was supposed to be the brides day. "I went to a cousins wedding once, can you look at the memory give you some ideas?"

  She nodded, and said "Yes.  It will take a little rummaging.  I'm sorry in advance if it feels really .  . . invasive or embarrassing."  She let that sink in, and as she nibbled on her steak, she was rummaging, as gently as she COULD, in his head for the memory.

Penny found the memory as jack was eating his own steak. He hadn't been paying attention to much of the words but she got the gist of how the ceremony went. He'd danced with one of his cousins friends at the reception and his mother and him made a bit of a roadtrip of the way back to get more time together.

  She smiled, and sipped her drink as she whispered into his mind {{Thank you, love.  Thank you for sharing with me, and not minding me seeing so much.  I'm really glad you showed me.}}

{{I know you don't have a lot of happy memories. I'm fine with sharing mine with you.}} Jack smiled at her as he ate savoring every bite. It had been SO long since he'd been out to eat anywhere, much less a fancy steak place.
This message was last updated by the player at 09:46, Sat 19 May 2012.

  Penny smiled, and said softly {{I am so blessed to have you, Jack.  And that you love me as much as I love you.  I'm so happy with you . . . you're the wings to my spirit.  And I love you.  Do you think I've ever been out to a steak dinner before?}}

{{I don't know Penny, we don't know enough of your life before to be sure. Does it uhhh, taste familiar?}}

  Penny admitted {{No.  A lot of things don't taste like I had them before.  You saw what Builder would feed us.  I don't remember what else.  But good food is . . . .not something I feel like I had a lot of.}}  He could see her savoring the flavors of the meal, the little expressions of pleasure on her face, the way she would enjoy the bites and chew them slowly.

{{Yeah nothing flavorfull about that stuff. I aim to change that. Anything you want, if its within my power to give to you. I will.}}

  She smiled, and whispered "I want another waltz with you.  And to try that thing . . . what did they call it?  Death by Chocolate?"

Jack smiled chuckling a bit. "I think I can make that happen. Which would you like first? Dessert or dancing?"

  Penny giggled, and said "Dessert first, please?  Then dancing?"

Jack smiled. "Your wish is my command." He waved the waiter over. "Excuse me, One death by chocolate please?"

  The waiter smiled, and went to get the two of them a helping of Death by Chocolate.  He placed a large square of it before the two of them.

Jack smiled at the waiter. "Thank you." Once he'd left he gently placed the spoon in Penny's hand. "You take the first bite, this is your night after all."

  Penny scooped a bite of the cake and ice cream confection up, and tried it.  She bumped it into her nose before she quite got the hang of how big the bite was, and giggled.  She had chocolate icing on her nose now.

Jack picked up a napkin and leaned over. "Here let me get that." HE dabbed her nose wiping off the chocolate, before sitting back down and taking a bite himself. "mmm this is good."

  Penny whispered "It's so decadent . . . rich . . . and I love it.  Can we have this for dinner when we do our wedding?"

"I don't know if this would be a proper DINNER choice but this can be the cake sure. Whatever you want."

  She scooped up another bite, and offered it to him with a giggle.  Catching his nose by accident.

Jack smiled as she fed him a bite chuckling as she got a bit on his nose. "I think you might want to work on your aim a bit, love."

  Penny giggled, and said "It's not exactly like I can see where it's going.  Do you like it?"

"Point taken." He said as he offered her bite off his spoon. "I do its delicious, but its all the better when its shared with you."

  She blushed, and said softly "That IS the best part, yes.  I do love you, Jack Pride."  And then caught his cheek, so she could kiss him with good aim.

He kissed her back feelings of pure bliss pouring through the link they shared. {{And I love you, forever and ever}}

  She stroked his cheek, and whispered {{Tonight has been magic.  I love you so much!}}

"I love you too. You want to take that dance now?"

  Penny nodded, and said softly "Yes please.  I would like, very much, to dance with you some more, Jack.  It's so nice . . . "

He stood offering her his hand before leading her to the dance floor. Swaying back and forth in time to the music as he held her in his arms.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest, swaying with him to the music and smiling happily with her eyes closed.   Enjoying this rare chance to just be with him and feel lovely for him.

Jack smiled as they moved around the dance floor. He leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I love you, I'm so glad there's nothing standing in our way anymore."

  Penny smiled, and said "We'll make it.  I love this.  Feeling your arms around me . . . .and knowing how happy it makes you!!"

"As long as your happy, I will be too."

  She hugged him as she said "I will always be happy, as long as I have you."  The piece of music was slowly coming to it's end though.  It had been a very enjoyable, magical feeling evening thus far.

"Then looks like your going to be happy for long time, because I'm not going anywhere." He kissed her cheek again. "Your stuck with me." He looked up as the song seemed to end. "Looks like we're running out of music, you ready to head back?"

  She nodded, and said "Yes.  We can head back to Don and Nora's.  And you can hold me all night long, and I can listen to your heartbeat and feel safe."  She cuddled against his chest, smiling.  She stroked her cheek against his white shirt, forgetting she had makeup on, so it left a bit of a smear of eyeshadow and blush and eyeliner, and a tiny bit of lipstick.

As the song ended he stood there for a moment holding her before taking her by the hand. He brought her to the table to retrieve her purse and make sure the bill was handled before leading her outside to see if the limo was still waiting for them.

Penny smiled, and said softly "Tonight has been wonderful, Jack.  I love you."  She even walked a little different, feeling beautiful and sexy and like a free woman who wasn't hunted.  It made her all the more beautiful for him, a preview of what she could be capable of, WOULD be capable of.  And it was because she was so happy, being HIS beloved, and he'd proclaimed his love to her, and she had admitted her own for him.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love you too." He smiled at her as he opened the door to the limo and helped her slide in.

  Penny smiled, and tugged on his hand to bring him into the limo as well.  She said "Tonight has been wonderful.  And no shoes!"

Jack smiled as he slid into the limo with her. "Good you deserve a perfect even-" He stopped as suddenly the limo stopped shook and then started moving again. Upwards. "The hell?" He looked out the window only to see three robots of familiar design lifting the limo. "NO! This can't be happening!" HE shouted as suddenly there was a hissing noise, and he drifted into darkness.

  He felt Penny's hand grip his own hard, as they both descended into darkness, but not before Penny cried {{NO!!!}}