TWO YEARS LATER

July 4th, 2015

Mike paced in front of the Oval Office where he knew Ben was doing his work. Mike knew this was probably going to be the most awkward conversation he was going to have with the president. Including the conversation where Ben told him he knew about Mike and April's secret relationship. It had to happen, though. He couldn't go on any longer without asking this question.

With a deep breath, Mike steadied himself in front of the door before knocking. "Come in!" Ben called, that just made Mike's palms get sweaty.

Mike took another deep breath before opening up the door. Ben's eyes drifted up as he saw Mike close the door behind him. Once he saw it was just Mike, his eyes went back down to the paperwork. "Is it time already?"

"I'm early." Mike clarified. Ben nodded, barely hearing him as he was tied up in his work. "Sir," Mike moved forward, but Ben was still looking down. "I actually came early because I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Can it wait?" Ben spoke, not really looking up at him while giving him a half laugh. "The ball is tonight and I really need to get this stuff done before then."

"I'm afraid to make it wait." Mike mumbled, Ben not hearing from being so focused on his work. Mike knew he had to go ahead and ask or else he would lose all the courage he finally built up. "I want to ask April to marry me." Ben immediately stopped working, taking a moment before looking up at Mike who was giving him a shy smile. "And I would very much appreciate your permission, sir."

Ben was almost frozen, just looking up at Mike. Sure, he knew this day would come, but he didn't know it would creep up on him like this. He loved Mike. He loved April. He knew they loved each other. Although, April was his little girl no matter how old she got. It was going to be hard to accept it.

Speaking of the devil, the doors to the Oval Office flung open, April standing there with a clipboard in one hand and her hand up in the other. "What are you two doing? We have an event to get to and we're behind schedule." She motioned to the door dramatically. "Let's go."

Ben stood up, looking at her like he would never be able to look at her again. His little girl was about to get engaged. And then married. Mike was looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman on the world. He loved the look of her in her new job. Secret Service, Head of Planning and Logistics. April was beginning to find their stares creepy. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

"No reason." Ben said while shaking his head. "We just love you, that's all."

April looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing anything out of the normal for her work day, her hair was tied up in a bun, she had the normal amount of makeup on her face. She didn't understand what was so great about her in that moment to make them look at her like that. "Am I dying?"

"What?!" Ben and Mike both asked at the same time, both with the equal amount of confusion on their faces.

"Well," April almost screamed out, throwing her hand in the air again. "You're both looking at me like I'm dying and I don't know about it!"

"Nothing's wrong with you." Ben spoke as he moved forward, placing his hands on her shoulders to look her over. April's eyebrows furrowed, not understanding why he was being like this.

April began to shake her head "You're creeping me out."

Ben rolled his eyes at his daughter before turning to look at Mike. "Let's just go before she gets more theories."

"Agreed." Mike scoffed out before walking ahead of the president, April standing there for a few moments.

"Okay," She called, finally deciding to follow them. "But you two were definitely talking about me."

"God, April," Mike spoke, turning around to look at her. "It's not all about you."

April gave him a dramatic eye roll he had to laugh at as she hurried behind Ben. Ben just continued to watch the two interact. This was what a soulmate was. They teased and talked with each other so naturally, it was actually kind of threatening. They were perfect for each other. So why did he feel so weird about the two getting married?

He didn't have time to think about that at the moment. A party was going on in his backyard and he had to mingle. He walked around to every guest, personally greeting all of them, April trying to do the same, but she had a lot more excuses to excuse herself now. And Mike was good and gauging when he should intervene.

April was now tapping her foot, talking with Senator Baxter. She wanted out, and Mike knew it. He walked up to the two, putting a hand on her back before going to her ear, talking just loud enough so the Senator could hear. "Miss. Asher, we're having a problem with the outer gate."

She looked to the Senator, giving him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Senator Baxter, but I do have to take care of this."

He gave her a knowing nod before turning around to find someone else to bore. As they began to walk away, April turned to look at Mike. "What took you so long? I was literally dying of boredom."

"Eh," Mike spoke with a shrug. "I guess you were learning the importance of the Red River rights."

"God," April spoke through a laugh and an eye roll. "I don't want to ever hear that name ever again."

Mike guided her out the back of the yard and to the outer part of the gate. The entire road behind the house was blocked off for the party with security on the other ends of the road. So, essentially, they were all alone. As alone as you could get in the White House. April found her hand easily intertwining with Mike's as she pulled off her heels and the two began to watch, enjoying being on the outside of the party. "What do you think of the party?" Mike asked, actually not really caring about the answer, but wanting to see her pretty face.

"It's okay, I guess." She looked down in thought. "It's distracting me from what tomorrow is."

"Hey," Mike whispered while stopping her to stand right in front of her by the gate covered with bushes, blocking the whole party from seeing them. "Don't think about that."

April scoffed. "Are you kidding me? It was two years ago, there's still some areas of the White House that are under construction. You know, like the area a helicopter crashed through."

"Oh," Mike scoffed with a nod. "Trust me, I remember that part quite vividly."

April's face began to get serious while looking into his eyes. "I have to be here every day and every time I turn a corner, I remember what it was like to see halls covered in dead bodies of the people I knew."

"You don't think I think about that too?"

April thought his sentence over. "Why do you have to pick the worst ways to arrange your sentences?"

"You think it's cute." He told her with a nod.

She smiled at the fact that he had caught her. "Okay, maybe." Mike smiled at her while leaning in to kiss her. "Maybe I think it's really annoying and I just want you to think I think it's cute."

"Oh." Mike whispered, only a few inches away from her lips. "Who's the bad one now?"

He leaned forward, taking a soft kiss from her lips, April's eyes still closed when they pulled away. "Yeah, well I've been living with you too long. You've rubbed off on me."

"Yeah." Mike laughed out before stealing another kiss. "That's it."

When he pulled away, he looked down at her. She was giving him such a loving stare; Mike knew there was no wavering on his choice. He wanted to marry her. He couldn't picture his life any other way. She gave him a deep, relaxing sigh. "I love you."

"I love you." Mike got a smile on face, a thought occurring that would sound almost better than "I love you". "What do you say after this, we get burgers and beers?"

"Burgers and wine." She spoke excitedly, Mike faking his excitement as well. "I'm feeling fancy tonight. Besides, Megan gave me that really awesome wine bottle for my birthday that haven't drank yet."

"Alright," Mike chuckled out before looking back over at the hedges. "Let's get back before they think we eloped."

April rolled her eyes before turning around and taking Mike's hand again. "Do you think I can get away with what I accomplished four years ago by making the ball a million times better?"

"April," Mike spoke while shaking his hand. "You're head of Planning and Logistics. You can kind of change what you want?"

"But it's more fun to sneak around." Mike rolled his eyes at her, but continued to grip her hand, not being able to wait to put a ring on her left hand's fourth finger.

Ben sat around as the place was getting cleaned up. He was still thinking about that bomb Mike dropped on him. He knew he did it tonight for the fear of losing his courage by the time he proposed, but did he really have to ask him right before the ball and have him thinking about it all night? "Dad!" He heard April call out. "We're about to leave!"

Ben immediately stood up, knowing he had to give Mike his answer before he left. "Coming!" Ben called.

Ben hurried to the front hall where he saw Mike helping April into her coat. He couldn't explain it, but that's when he made his decision. Mike was so careful and attentive as he placed the coat on top of her shoulders once she got her arms through. He pat her on the shoulders leading to her to turn around and look up at him. On his daughter's face, he saw nothing but love. On Mike's face too. And he knew they were destined to get married and raise a family together. He could practically see it now, and that was enough.

April turned around to look at her father before leaning forward and giving him a big hug. Ben hugged her tight, having a melancholy feeling about it all. He was happy for his daughter, but also sad she was growing up, but also immensely proud.

When Ben pulled away, he studied his daughter, April giving him another confused face at his look. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." She laughed out before patting him on the shoulders.

Mike walked forward, Ben pulling him into a hug. "I give you my permission." Ben whispered low enough so April wouldn't hear.

Mike smiled as he pat his back, getting ready to release him. "Thank you, sir."

When they finally let go of each other, April looked back and forth at them. She had no idea why those two were acting so strange and it had been happening all night. She wasn't going to question it tonight. She was exhausted, but if this continued into tomorrow, she would definitely have an interrogation with one of them.

April sat across Megan as she brought out the Tupperware bowls she had brought. "Mike made pasta the other night." She told her excitedly as she scooted the bowl towards her.

"He's Irish, why is he good so good at making pasta?"

"Scottish." April corrected.

"Same thing." Megan spoke, already shoving a forkful into her mouth as April rolled her eyes at her friend, remembering when she was like that with Mike. "Did he go in today?"

"Yeah." April whispered as she began to push her food around in the dish.

"Hey," Megan spoke, moving her hand to grab April's. "I know this day is rough on you, so if you want to go back home, I understand."

April opened her mouth, about to speak when a door slammed behind them, but it sounded too much like a gunshot to her. She let out a scream as Megan began to stand up to the men who were wheeling in a patient from an ambulance. The majority of the men were medical assistants with both Megan and April. So, Megan decided to take action. "What's wrong with you, Chandler? We got a PTSD victim on her trigger day!"

"Sorry, Asher!" He called out over his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Rabin!"

Megan turned back to her friend, giving her a smile as April tried to calm her pounding heart. "Do you miss the hospital yet?" April gave out a loud fake laugh, making Megan smile more. "Are you two going to do anything for your anniversary tonight?"

April looked up, confused at her question. "It's just the two-year mark." April spoke with a shrug. "At the most we'll have dinner."

Megan suddenly became panicked at her answer. If only she knew what was happening tonight. "I mean you guys have been living together for two years without any problems, do you ever think about marriage?"

April stopped mid bite to look at her friend, trying to measure if she was serious or not. She was. April finished swallowing before looking back at Megan. "I mean…sure."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic." Megan was really starting to panic now.

April thought a bit on how to answer this before putting her thoughts into words. "Yes, I would love to be married to Mike someday, just not today." Okay, she was panicking. "I just started up my career, I don't really have time for all of that." Megan was trying to take deep, calming breaths. "And what if we're one of those couples that is really good just dating, but married we're a mess and we end up getting a divorce in three months?"

"Yeah, I guess I can see that." Megan thought about how she was going to change her mind on this topic by tonight. "Don't you want children?"

April began to laugh as she put down her fork to look at her best friend. "Why are you so obsessed with this topic today?"

Megan shrugged, finding her panic rising. "Hypothetically."

"Sure," April spoke while throwing her hands in the air. "But not,"

"Right now." They both finished at the same time, April with an eye roll.

"Okay, Miss. Curious," April spoke as she grabbed her purse. "I should let you get back to work."

Megan looked back to the hospital with a deep sigh before looking back to her friend. "I don't want to go back. Take me with you."

April gave her a tight smile before grabbing her Tupperware. "Become emotionally compromised and maybe I will."

April left with a wave, Megan watching her until she was far enough away to pull out her cell phone and dial Mike's number in a panic. She bounced with anxiety as it rang until he finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Mike!" She screamed, making Mike jump from the shock.

"Fuck." He cursed. "I'm right here, Megan."

"We may have a subtle problem."

Mike moved away a little from the decorator, becoming panicked. "Is April okay?"

"She's fine, but she might not say yes."

Mike looked around, not wanting anyone around to know what was happening. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Megan spoke, offended. "I simply asked her if she wanted to get married and she was like 'no, not right now. I have my career to focus on.'" Megan made sure to get her voice high pitch to mimic April's voice.

"She doesn't talk like that." Mike criticized.

"Yeah," Megan spoke, wanting to get back at him. "And it looks like you're not getting engaged tonight."

Mike turned around to look at how romantic the restaurant had become and how elegant the private room was for the engagement party directly after. How could she say no to all of this? "Yeah, well, we'll see about that."

When April got back home, she walked straight into her bedroom, wanting to just take a nap, and let this day be over with. When she shut the door to her room, she saw something on their bed. When she walked toward it, she realized it was a red dress with a low cut and low sleeves that would go just under her shoulders. She began to pick it up, not understanding where it came from. "What the hell?"

That's when she noticed the note next to the dress. She picked it up and began to read it, just leaving her with a location and time. The place they were supposed to have their first date three and a half years ago. "What have you got planned, Banning?"

She pulled the dress to her chest with a deep sigh, looking up in thought. Maybe all of what Megan was talking about today wouldn't be so bad right now. Maybe she would love it. She then looked to the clock. Shit, she had to start getting ready.

When April's limo pulled up to the restaurant, Mike was waiting outside for her. She began to smile as the car parked and Mike moved to it, opening her door and helping her out. "You are so ridiculous." She spoke as she moved her hand to hold his.

"I think I'm romantic." April rolled her eyes at him as they walked into the restaurant.

April immediately tried to go to the hostess, but Mike kept walking. Her eyebrows furrowed at the feeling of him going the other way. "Are we not going to eat?" She almost laughed out, but she mostly brought it up because she was hungry.

"Not there." He spoke obviously. As they walked through the restaurant, different members of the staff would walk by and give her an excited smile. Sure, she was famous, but not everyone would recognize her like they were doing now.

April looked up at Mike, his smile was unchanging, and it was starting to drive her crazy. Something was happening, she just didn't know what the hell it was. April moved closer to Mike, putting her hand on his arm as they walked before leaning into his ear. "What are you up to?"

"You'll see." Mike was talking to her like she was an impatient child, and that was making April angrier than not knowing what the hell was going on.

They finally walked to the back of the restaurant. It was closed off with a private room shut next to it, and no one would be able to see them. That's what Mike wanted. April looked around as she took her seat, not quite sure what was going on. "Did you bring me here to kill me?" April joked as she picked up the menu.

Mike laughed as he finally got comfortable in the seat across from her. "Don't you think if I wanted to do that I would have done it already?"

"I don't know." April whispered, her eyes finally drifting up from the menu. "Maybe you were waiting for the perfect time."

Mike opened his mouth, about to counter what she said before their waitress came up and placed a bottle of wine on the table. April's eyes widened at the label. "No." She spoke, grabbing the bottle of wine by the neck. "We didn't order this, and I would never order such an exp – "

"It's already paid for." The waitress interrupted her.

April looked at Mike, and then the bottle of wine again. She knew for a fact if Mike was going to spend that kind of money on alcohol, it would have been bourbon. She then turned back to the waitress, her eyes still wide. "By who?"

She got an excited smile on her face, almost bouncing before telling her. "The President of the United States."

April pursed her lips together before looking back to the bottle. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You two enjoy." The waitress spoke before leaving.

"Wait," April spoke, trying to get her attention, but she just kept walking. She looked to Mike in confusion. "We haven't even ordered."

"Don't worry about that." Mike spoke as he got up, beginning to unscrew the bottle.

"'Don't worry'" April repeated in confusion. "We're at a restaurant, and I'm starving."

Mike looked to her, sighing about how difficult she was making this. "We'll eat soon, don't get your panties in a twist."

April let out an angry sigh before leaning back into her seat again, and crossing her arms with a huff. She then looked to Mike who was struggling with the bottle of wine. "Do you need some help with that?"

"No." He told her quickly. "I can get a bottle of wine open."

April sighed while throwing her hands up in defense. "I just thought you would like to know that you're turning the screw to the right when you should be turning it to the left." Mike stopped what he was doing, looking to her, realizing she was right. "You know, righty tighty, lefty loosey." Mike took a deep sigh before turning it to the left now. He was almost shaking, making April laugh out. "Baby," Mike looked up to her, looking like he was breathing really hard. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I just," He backed away from the wine bottle before taking another deep breath. "I just want tonight to go perfect."

"Perfectly." She corrected while shaking her head.

Mike looked at her, about to get angry. She began to laugh while standing up. She stopped right in front of him, putting her arms around his neck as his moved to her waist. "No matter what we do, no matter what seems to go wrong, any night with you is a perfect night." Mike gave her a little smile, knowing this really was the perfect night to do this. "I will open the wine." She whispered before moving back to the table and taking the cork screw in her hands.

Mike took a deep sigh, knowing the second she got that bottle open, she would see the ring. She twisted and then pulled, the "pop" taking up the room. She sighed happily at the fact that she got it open before picking it up, about to pour Mike a glass, but something stopped her. Mike got a huge smile on his face. April was just frozen, looking down at the ring.

Mike walked forward, helping her pour the glass, only pouring just enough so the ring could fall out. April just couldn't take her eyes off the ring as he reached in his glass and shook off some of the wine before rubbing the ring with a napkin. "It's called a Claddagh ring." He continued to look at it as he wiped it. "It's very common in Celtic cultures."

April just kept looking down at the ring. "Mike." She gasped.

"Let me get this out." He asked her, finally making eye contact. "I practiced this a lot." April gulped before nodding, looking back to the ring.

"So, there's a lot of different legends surrounding the ring, but my favorite, and possibly the most accurate, has to be about a British soldier." April began to feel her eyes water. He loved that one because it was the most like them. She hadn't even heard the story yet, but she knew that was going to be his reason. "It's about a man who left his small town to fight in a war, and he promised his love that they were going to get married when he returns. Well, his ship was captured, and he was taken as a prisoner. He was specifically assigned to be the slave of a goldsmith. So, when William III rose to power, he commanded all British prisoners be released." April bit her lip, feeling the first tear fall down her cheek as Mike moved closer to her so she could get a better look at the ring. "But before he left, her crafted her this ring as a symbol of their love."

April sniffled before looking back up at his eyes once she got a good look at the ring. All Mike could do was continue to smile at her. "And that story is my favorite because it reminds me of us. No matter what happened, we found a way back to each other. Two years ago, we found a way back to each other even if it wasn't the best circumstance. If we're going to be real honest, I'm actually grateful for the attack on the White House because we probably wouldn't be here now if it didn't happen." April let out a tearful laugh before trying to wipe away her tears.

"So, April," Mike started again before getting down on one knee right in front of April, gripping her hands so tight with one hand, and holding the ring with his other. "Will you marry me?"

All April could do was look at him. She was so thankful to be blessed with an amazing, compassionate, funny when he wanted to be, asshole most of the time, but had a sweet spot you couldn't miss type of man. "April," Mike spoke again. "Your silence is kind of freaking me out."

"Yes." April almost cried out before putting out her left hand. "I'm sorry. Yes, I want to marry you."

Mike slowly placed the ring on her finger, making sure the crown on the top of the heart was closest to her. "This means that you're engaged." He explained. "When we get married, you're going to have to – "

April pulled him up so he would be able to look at her. She shook her head at him once he was standing in front of her. "I don't care right now, kiss me."

He did as she said, pulling her in for a huge kiss. April really couldn't believe she was here right now. She told Megan earlier that she didn't want to get married or have kids right now, but the second she realized what was going on, she knew that was all she wanted. And Mike, his nerves were finally the lowest they had been all week.

As they kissed, everyone began to open the private door right next to the table they were at. Ben, Conner and Megan were each sticking their head out of the door with big smiles on their faces. "Hey," Megan spoke, causing April to jump away from shock, but Mike just smiled while putting his arm around her waist. "Just letting you know that whenever you two are done there, there's an awesome engagement party going on in here."

"It is pretty awesome." Conner spoke with a nod.

"And we have food in here." Ben added.

April looked to the three of them, shaking her head with a tight smile on her lips. She couldn't believe that he did this. That Mike actually managed to pull all of this off. She grabbed Mike's hand, shaking her head at him before pulling him forward. "You're in trouble." She spoke in a mocking tone.

"Am I?" Mike asked with a little laugh.

April couldn't help the smile as she looked at him. Sure, he was in trouble, but there was no way she could stay mad at him for too long. "For the rest of our lives."

And when they walked into the private room, she was greeted with a room of friends and family that they could properly celebrate their engagement with. Mike did good. Ben knew that. April knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. And soon, the two would be getting married. Everyone in that room knew that no two people deserved each other more than Mike Banning and April Asher.

I'm gonna answer some reviews from the last chapter of Everything New.

stormrunner74: Hahaha same. I would be a fumbling mess. I think she handled it a lot better than I would have.

Mrs. HappyAnarchy: Yes! Secret Service April is going to be my favorite to write. I love writing her bad ass side!

Kagome309: Aw yes! The wedding will probably be at the end of this story, but you got the proposal!

Igor Blonsky: At least she kept her sense of humor lol. And who can resist strawberry?

CoolCat020: I'm glad I made you laugh! That was my favorite part!

micky mouse 17: Yeah, I'm just putting this story in the "Olympus Has Fallen" category because there is no "London Has Fallen"

MisfitCarter: Thank you so much! That was one of the best reviews I've ever gotten. I hope you like this chapter!

Okay, so I'm currently working on this fanfic and my Star Trek fanfic, so the updates are probably going to be kind of slow until I get to the end of that fanfic. I want to apologize for that. What did you guys think about the proposal! I hope you loved it! Also, make sure to check out my Star Trek fanfic if you're into that. Remember to review! I'm so happy to be back, and I hope you are too!