Rupert blinked at Fred when she asked her question. She couldn't possibly think that...
"Of course, I'm no--," he started to say, but before he could even get anything out, she was going to feed Brahms. Sighing, Rupert raked his hand through his hair and went over to the stairs leading up to the loft. He sat down and put his head in his hands.
When she came back, he looked up at her, realizing she was right. He just had no idea what it was she wanted or need from him, though, if it wasn't him leaving and giving her that life she had seen. "And I'm not saying I want you to be my wife just because I want you to stay. I just...I don't know what to do, Fred. What we have, I've never experienced anything like it before with anyone, and I don't know what to do. I love you so much, I don't like thinking about my life if I had never met you." He pointed up to the loft. "But when I saw your face in that dream and told you that you had to leave it if you wanted to live...it felt like I stolen something from you that I had no right to take."
Sighing, he dropped his hand down. After a moment, he got up and walked over to her, standing in front of her, wanting badly to touch her. "When you came to me that night after you were arrested, I told you that you were mine...but I also became utterly yours that night too. So no, I'm not asking you to be my wife. I'm asking you to let me be your husband."