Hannah got resettled back at Allen's. It felt like she had never left; it really felt like home now. He made room for her things and he was glad to have her back at his place. Though they both knew the rehab was much needed, he missed her. Having her living at his place brought a positive light to his previously solitary life. Plus, he was in love with her so going to bed with her and waking up next to her each morning was a blessing even when he had to go to work early. Just seeing her sleep soundly next to him, made the start of each day so much more peaceful for him.

They returned to their old schedule of him going to work while she ran errands like seeing the new therapist for her PTSD and other things. It was very important that she saw the therapist at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. Her mental strength depended on it. Because Allen needed the car for work, Hannah took the city bus around and loved it. The independence now felt like a blessing instead of a curse. She had someone caring and loving to come home to every day. And she intended to keep it that way.

Her weekly adventures included visiting Caddie at the sober living facility and the Mother Superior at St. Bernadette's. The latter was very glad to see that the spark had returned back into Hannah's eyes and her face was looking healthier too. She was still very thin but Dr. Weller had suggested a new diet called Autoimmune Paleo along with her daily Vitamin D and Biotin supplements. This would bring her cholesterol under control as well as bring down her cortisol and Hashimoto's levels. Though her nerves were still shot and the therapist was helping with that, Dr. Weller was pleased to see Hannah's progress in conquering her M.E.; a disease that took lives and didn't have a cure. As Hannah had said the last time she was in her office:

"If I'm the only one on planet earth with this disease that recovers before they discover a cure and never relapse, so be it. I will be an inspiration to others. That's a great goal to have!"

Dr. Weller was proud of her positive look on life now. Hannah had come a long way. Because she didn't think Hannah was stable enough to find a job yet, she had recommended that she find someplace to volunteer to keep herself busy during the day so her mind wouldn't start wondering to bad places. With the help of the Mother Superior; she soon found a center that catered to people with different illnesses and diseases and served as a place of guidance. They offered meditation, yoga, and counseling to people who were in different stages of illness.

Because of Hannah's gentle manner and good advice, she quickly became a favorite among the people visiting the center. A lot of terminal people went to see her for advice before they went to see a doctor. It was very rewarding for her to work with these people; they had everything from HIV, MS, Cancer, and even M.E. like her, among other things. She bonded with them all. It wasn't too taxing on her because she only did it twice a week but she heard from people at the center that when she wasn't on shift, her 'groups' as she called them, were always looking for her. She became so popular that the staff gave her, her own office so she could have private meetings with her groups.

Because part of her plan at the sober living facility required her to get a job that wasn't around drugs, Caddie heard about what Hannah was doing and decided to become a paid volunteer 5 days a week. This way she could show everyone her responsible manner as well as spend time with Hannah; killing two birds with one stone. And it worked out perfectly for both women. Caddie got to see Hannah in her element and Hannah showed Caddie how to use her experience as an addict to help people on their own journeys.

Hannah absolutely loved her new mission of taking care of and helping others. When she wasn't at the center or visiting St. Bernadette's, she would take a walk around SMU's campus to get the much needed exercise. She had noticed that when she didn't walk enough, her Achilles' tendons would start to hurt in both feet so she would make it a point to exercise as much as she could even if it was just a simple walk. She would also clean the apartment so that it wasn't messy. It was the least she could do and it was important for her to keep busy.

They spent Christmas at St. Bernadette's with the Mother Superior, the other nuns, and orphans. It was a very meaningful time for Hannah and Allen. They visited Sister Grace's grave on Christmas Day because that was also her birthday. It was a very special place for Hannah to go and she liked going there sometimes alone and other times with Allen. She even took Caddie one time; they stayed there sitting on the grass for 2 hours as Hannah recounted all of the stories of her upbringing when she came to live at St. Bernadette's. Caddie was touched and honored that she shared those private things with her.

After the visit to the grave, Allen and Hannah exchanged gifts. He gave her a beautiful promise ring to put on her right hand as a way to show his commitment for and to her. It was a small yellow gold band with a pearl in the center symbolizing hope. She, meanwhile, gave him a beautiful burgundy silk tie and a handmade scarf that she saw in a sewing shop during one of her errand trips out and about Dallas. Both gifts were quite lovely and thoughtful making perfect sense for them both.

New Year's Eve was spent at Allen's and they invited both Caddie and Ryan. John was visiting his brother that day. They had a lovely time and watched the fireworks go off over Dallas at midnight as they all kissed and hugged each other while singing Auld Lang Sine; they toasted each other with sparkling cider. No one was feeling alcohol. It was a lovely evening and night and Ryan drove Caddie back to the sober living facility at 3am just as Allen and Hannah collapsed into bed and made love before drifting peacefully to sleep in each other's arms. It was truly the perfect start to the New Year.

The promise ring that Allen gave Hannah made her think more and more about what she could no longer avoid; Chris and the house in Plano on Four Seasons Lane. They devised a plan with the help of Ryan and the neighbor from across the street that would stake out the house to see when Chris would leave home for work and set up a time-table accordingly; they even made sure that Scarlett wasn't home. Everything was to be carefully orchestrated. Allen even changed up his work schedule so he could help Hannah with her mission.

So once they figured out a pattern, Hannah and Allen would go to the house every week or so and started taking Hannah's things back to Allen's place. She said she didn't want much from the house just her personal prized possessions like the two boxes in the attic that held her parents' things. Those were the first things they took knowing Chris wouldn't even know they were missing as he never went up into the attic.

During the next trip, she looked through all of the closets, armoires, and dressers. Even then she didn't take a lot; just packed everything she needed into one suitcase and moved the other things around so Chris wouldn't tell the difference until much later. She didn't want to tip him off just yet that she'd been to the house. She was going to do things on her own terms and no one else's.

Hannah had learned the hard way in the last 3 years that she didn't have control over a lot of things in her life but she would be damned if she wasn't going to take some of that back. She deserved to lead a path into the future that she had some form of control over. She couldn't predict her health but she could do everything in her power to make sure her recovery was a successful one. After looking throughout the house very carefully, she realized there wasn't much else left to take other than her books and a few photo albums. She decided that she would do that pick up all in one sitting. If anything else was needed, she'd figure it out later.

As Allen helped her load the last box of books into his car, a letter was burning a hole in his pocket. He had had a meeting with his boss the day before and it was a huge decision, a massive opportunity, and an even bigger leap of faith on Hannah's part. He had no idea how she would react but he had to tell her as soon as possible. He couldn't procrastinate as this was a time sensitive matter. He would have to tell her the following day as it was a Saturday and he didn't have to work.

Meanwhile, as Hannah and Allen drove back to his place after picking up the last big load at the house on Four Seasons Lane, in a federal prison in Arizona, a prisoner was about to speak to his lawyer about doing the right thing. It was the least he could do all things considered. Her face had haunted his dreams and every waking moment for months.