His Savior, Her Hero (A Tim Gutterson Story)

A Proposal to Remember

Tim was a wreck. He left the office to go buy an engagement ring. The sentimental part of Harper's rant scratched at the back of his mind, but he wanted the ring to be their story, not a continuous reminder of what they had been through. Still, he couldn't quite figure out what to do. So, he went to Leslie.

Leslie smiled at the young marshal, "Harper won't wear a ring. She'll wear necklaces, though."

There was only one necklace Tim knew Harper would love. "My tags?" Tim asked.

He did have a second pair in his secret box. She cherished them, and he knew how to make something uniquely hers.

"Thank you, Leslie."

The woman smiled, tears in her eyes, "Take care of her."

Tim didn't expect himself to hug Leslie, but he did as the woman sniffled on his shoulder. "I'll never let her go," he promised.

Perhaps it was cheap or tacky, but Tim spent a good hour in front of the tag maker in the VFW making Harper's tag as perfect as possible. Mainly because he wasn't sure whether to put Bonnie-Mae Harper Delaney or just Harper Delaney.

In the end, he left Bonnie-Mae off. That's not who she was to him. She wasn't the legendary mercenary sniper, but his closest friend and his heart and soul.

He hadn't mentioned any of this to any of his friends. Only Art and Leslie knew, unless they told someone else. He doubted it, but there was always a chance. At least he had the surprise of a necklace instead of a ring.

When he got home, he greeted Ninja hesitantly. He almost felt like he needed the cat's permission, even though he knew without a down the cat would approve.

Finally heading to his former room, he grabbed the box and pulled out the necklace with his tags. Taking off one tag, he shakily added one with Harper's name on it. He would wait to do it to his own. She was often more aware of things than he gave her credit for.

When he went back to the office, he stopped in front of Rachel's desk, surprised to see Harper still at his desk.

"You okay?" Rachel asked. "You're pale."

"No, I'm fine. I thought Harper would have been gone by now."

"She's been wanting to talk to you and Raylan about something."

Tim sighed as he walked up to his desk, "Hey. Rachel said you wanted to talk?"

She looked at him, confused for a moment then nodded, "Yeah, I've got a meeting with Doyle Thursday. Art wants you and Raylan to be my backup when things go south."

"When?" Tim repeated.

"Nothing's going to stop them from trying to kill me." She looked at him, "I'm leaving you both at the border. There's no need for all of us to die."

"Last I checked, you don't have a say."

Harper was shocked, her eyes widening just a bit as she stared at him. Tim had said it more cruelly than he meant. He was stressed and it was starting to show.

Gently taking her hand, he kissed it, "I'm sorry, baby. I can't just let you do things on your own after Saturday."

She nodded, placing his hand against her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he promised.

Overall, he was fine. The stress building in him was proving otherwise.

"You'll tell me when you're ready?" She asked quietly, her eyes begging him to not lie to her again.

He kissed her scarred palm, "Yeah, when I'm ready."