Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Lifetime Television.

Chapter 8: THE EYES OF LOVE

Lu stared at the young man in disbelief, almost afraid that she was dreaming, that he really wasn't there.

"She's right, Lu." The man said again.

"Jonas?" Lu whispered.

"It's me, honey." Jonas Ray said.

"Jonas." Lu said again as she ran into his outstretched arms, tears streaming down her cheeks. As Jonas wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him, he could feel her body trembling.

Lana stood there for a moment watching the scene before her.

"Welcome home, Jonas. I'll leave you two alone." Lana lightly touched Lu's shoulder as she left the office.

Lu held tightly to Jonas, almost afraid to let him go. For a few minutes they held each other in silence. Then Lu pulled away from him.

"Jonas, what happened? Where were you? I was scared to death that you were..." Lu's voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Jonas kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Shhh...I'm here now. Everything will be okay." Jonas said in a soothing tone.

"But..." Jonas took her by the hand and led her over to the couch. He sat down, pulling her down to sit on his lap.

"We never made it to Rio," Jonas said. "Kian, the pilot, had a heart attack at the controls. When we went down, I couldn't use the phone. And I knew I needed to find help somehow. I'm not even exactly sure where we were. How did you find out?" Jonas asked.

"Tuesday morning around 4am the cops came and told me that air control had lost contact with your plane Monday afternoon and that you didn't make it to Rio. They came to the clinic later to say that they had found the plane and the pilot, but no sign of...no sign of you." Lu replied.

"That must have been so awful for you, honey. I am so sorry you had to go through this. The searchers found me this morning. They wanted to take me to the nearest hospital. But I begged them to bring me to Rittenhouse. I had to see you, Lu. I figured you must be going through hell. I wanted you to know that I was okay." Lu leaned her head back, resting on his shoulder.

"I was so afraid that you...that you were dead." Lu admitted quietly.

"Knowing you were here waiting for me is what kept me going. I knew I had to get back to you, Lu." As Lu rested her head on his shoulder, Jonas looked into her eyes and for the first time noticed how bloodshot they were and how tired she looked.

"You look exhausted, Lu."

"I'm okay." Lu lied. "At least I am now that you're here." Lu stared into his eyes,

seeing the look of love that she knew she would find there.

"I love you, Jonas." Jonas leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you too, Lu. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Jonas took her left hand in his and gently fingered the beautiful ring that he had given to her before leaving for Rio a few days earlier.

"It's Thursday." Jonas said with a smile. "I've been waiting all week for this. Dr. Luisa Magdalena Delgado, will you marry me?" Lu bit her lip as she continued to gaze into his eyes. At the same time, he was staring into her eyes, which glistened with tears.

She did love him very much. And she knew he loved her. But marriage was a huge step, a big adjustment. Would he be able to handle the heavy demands of her job? Would she be able to fit into his upper class life style?

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Will Lu accept Jonas' marriage proposal? To find out, please stay tuned for the Season 6 premiere of Strong Medicine, coming soon to a tv near you.

Thanks to everyone who has read my Strong Medicine stories, and for all of the wonderful reviews.

Rena