When Thursday night began to draw to a close, he found himself in their bedroom, waiting and hoping that he was right, that she would wake up. Forty-eight hours had passed, just as they had while he was asleep. All the evidence told him she would wake up, and if she didn't, he would be at an absolute loss. As the minutes wasted away, drawing him closer to midnight, he moved into the bed and propped himself up on his side. If she woke up – no, when – he wanted to be the first thing she saw. Hopefully it would offer comfort from whatever nightmare she had been stuck in, because it didn't seem likely that their minds would take them to similar places.

When her eyes opened, the feeling of relief was instantaneous. Of course she immediately expressed concern was for him, just as he did for her. The last thing she remembered, he had been asleep, and by some twist of fate, she had fallen into the same slumber at the exact second he had come out of it. Whomever had done this to them was cruel and would pay for it, but right now, he couldn't be bothered with that. Jack was elated that Roxy was awake. Even if, deep down, he had known it would wear off just like it had with everyone else, knowing did not compare to seeing it with his own eyes. Pulling her into his arms, feeling hers around him – that was what he needed to accept that this was real.

And god, she felt nothing like she had in his dream. Everything that made her her, from her scent to the sound of her breathing, could not be mimicked in his dreams. Even her touch had not been the same, he realized. No illusion could accurately copy those little details, the ones that he had never thought about or truly appreciated until that moment. It was because those things didn't translate that he knew this was the real world. As wonderful as the illusion had been, it had seemed off. Now he understood why. No version of Roxy could ever replace the real one. For as much as he missed a world where they had it all, he preferred to live in this one.

They curled up together, taking turns explaining their dreams to one another. He had gone first, telling her the tale of their pregnancy and his proposal. When she smiled at that, he couldn't help but smile in return, but it wasn't until she started speaking that he understood the meaning behind it. As she told him what her dream had been about, he knew he shouldn't be surprised that it had been so similar to his. Well, aside from the presence of her father. He did feel sad knowing that he couldn't fix that particular detail for her, but he was mostly giddy that they were on the same wavelength. It could have been his excitement that she was awake influencing him, but it didn't matter. He couldn't stop himself from smiling or confirming that it had actually been him she was marrying in her dream. A guy had to make sure.

It was us. I know that for a fact. I remember thinking when we were sitting with my parents that I at least had found you. Maybe I knew it wasn't real, or maybe it was real and I still found you. Maybe it's meant to be.

Meant to be. Fate. He liked the sound of that. It made him beyond happy to know she'd seen them getting married, that even in a world where things had been different for her, they'd still found one another. He didn't care if it was sappy, but knowing that things had been so similar for them both made him wonder if maybe they wanted things to be that way for them, in the present.

"Wouldn't it be funny if it ended up working out that way for us?"

What? The whole being pregnant and then getting married thing?

Before the possibility of having a child had hit him in the face, he hadn't thought much about it. It was an eventual kind of thing, something he knew he wanted, but he hadn't been in a hurry. Being teased with it and then told it wasn't real, though, had sparked something in him. It wasn't just because of his age either. Sure, he was closer to forty than he was to thirty, but this wasn't a biological clock issue. It was a love thing. Roxy was the first person he could see himself starting a family with, and their similar dreams only made him want it more.

"Sure, why not? It doesn't even have to be in that order."

It would be. I bet if, you know, things had been different when we went to the doctor it probably would have happened. I guess I didn't know how much I wanted that life until we were told it wasn't going to happen. Or how much I... I miss my dad and realize he won't be there for any of it. It's not fair.

She was right. Had things gone the way they'd come to want them to, their dreams would have been reality. Things hadn't gone that way, which left it up to them to decide what they wanted in this world, the real one. Jack soon felt the wetness of her tears seeping through his shirt, and it was at the point he frowned. He lifted her head so that he could look at her, really look at her.

"That's me too. I knew I wanted it eventually, but having it dangled in front of us and taken away changed something for me. I guess it made me want it more?"

He moved one of his hands so that he could take hers into it, threading their fingers together. He wished that her father could really be around to experience this, that he could have met him and gotten to know them, but that was one thing he had no control over. The rest of it, he realized, was completely in their hands. If they wanted this, they could have it.

"If we both want that life, to get married and start a family, what's stopping us? We should go for it."

Maybe they wouldn't be having this conversation right now had they not had the dreams they did, but he was sure they'd have had it eventually. With everything that had happened, from the false pregnancy to dreaming about changing it, he knew now more than ever that he wanted that life with her. He wanted his dream to become a reality; maybe not exactly as it had been but close. She obviously wanted it too. Was there some rule that said they had to wait?

Are you saying what I think you're saying? I mean, I think I know what you're saying, but I want to know if you're serious about it. I guess, I don't know, there really isn't anything stopping us from getting married or starting a family. We could just do it.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. We can do whatever we want, and I want nothing more than to have that with you."

He inched closer, moving a hand to rest on her knee, though the blankets still separated them. As she confirmed that she wanted the same things and began inching closer to him, he could feel the butterflies jumping about in his stomach. This was a major step, but despite those nerves, he was absolutely certain about what he was saying. Jack wanted it all, to marry her and have children with her, but he wanted to do it right. Not necessarily in order, but he wanted to at least propose to her with a ring in hand. He had promised her a romantic gesture, after all.

"I'm not going ask for an answer on the m-word right now, because I do want to blow you away with something. I'm not going to tell you when, but it will be soon."

Yeah, you still owe me that gesture, which I am going to keep reminding you about until it happens, but for the whole having a kid thing, if you wanted, we could start working for that right now?

His hand dipped underneath the covers, smoothing over her leg. He leaned his head forward to meet her lips in a kiss, and when he pulled away, he wore a devious, knowing smirk. A switch had turned in him. Everything he had been feeling before, from the worry to the butterflies about this major thing, slipped away. His focus was on her and the knowledge they were actually doing this. They had just agreed to start trying for a family, for real. No false pregnancies, no illusions, it was just them and what they both wanted. And there was no questioning whether or not he wanted to take that next step with her. They were meant to be. The thought of backing out didn't cross his mind.

"Let's get started."

There was no hesitation in his voice, no doubt. They were doing this, taking what had happened to them and making it a reality. As he guided her back onto the bed and felt her legs secure around his waist, he thought maybe he would go easy on whomever had done this to them. There was still hell to pay for fucking with them, but for having pushed them to admit what they really wanted, he could at least give them a five second head start.