Dedicated to Lee and Becca, to whom I promised I would try and write some Darol Valentine's Night fluff, here it is girlies, hope you enjoy xxx

Put A Ring On It

The house was eerily quiet and cloaked in darkness when Carol arrived home, much to her surprise. At this time of day, the kids would usually be home, in between rooms and making a lot of noise while dinner was being prepared but that evening, they were nowhere to be seen. Carol was grateful for the space because she didn't particularly want the kids to see how badly the chemo was affecting her. She was tired and just wanted an early night but Bianca had told her that David had gone to a lot of trouble to make that evening special for them, and she didn't have the heart to disappoint him. "Is that you Carol?" David called out from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Carol called back as she hung her puffa jacket up on the coat hanger.

Dinner was almost ready, the pleasant aroma wafting down the hallway told Carol that much. She wandered towards the kitchen and her eyes settled themselves upon the beautiful table that David had set for them; the candles burning brightly and illuminating the beautiful bouquet of roses sat in a vase in the middle of the table. Carol really hadn't expected David to go to so much trouble, she had been happy with the card and breakfast in bed that he had presented her with that morning but in that moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of affection for her fiancé as she watched him slave away over their dinner. "You spoilt the surprise," David told her as he spotted her lingering in the doorway.

"Bianca did actually, she told me you were cooking," Carol replied.

"I told her to keep it quiet; I wanted to surprise you,"

Only a week ago, David had been on the verge of moving out having had his pub karaoke proposal turned down by Carol. Now, they were happy, loved-up and engaged after she had taken it upon herself to go into the pub, gate-crash David's meeting with Danny and ask him to marry her. To any outsider, it would seem like a strange turn of events but to Carol, it really wasn't. David had tried to prove his commitment by proposing but she had knocked him back, believing that he was too unreliable and immature to enter into marriage once again. Despite her insistence that she had wanted to go it alone, David's support at her first chemotherapy session had been invaluable. She had come so close to losing him and she wasn't going to let that happen again, ever. "You really didn't have to go to all this trouble for me you know?" Carol finally spoke, breaking the silence that hung in the air.

David smiled at her as he approached, "if I can't treat my beautiful fiancée on the most romantic day of the year, then when can I?" he replied, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"You don't need an excuse to treat me,"

"How can I not make a big deal of our first Valentine's Day together, eh?"

He did have a point, Carol conceded, he wasn't going to argue that with him. "Where are the kids anyway?" she asked.

"Whit's over at Lucy's, said something about her finally seeing sense and Liam, Tiff and Morgan are at Terry's with Bianca. I told her I wanted to make a bit of a fuss of you tonight, to take your mind off Alice and the chemo,"

Carol smiled at her, Bianca was right, he had put a lot of thought into making that evening special for them and she couldn't help but love him for it. "I love you David," she told him.

David grinned at her, "I love you too darling, and I always will do," he replied.

"Are you getting soppy in your old age?"

"Maybe I'm just mellowing,"

"Mmmm," Carol's reply was non-committal.

"You hungry?" David asked, Carol nodded her head, "sit yourself down then, and I'll dish up."

She sat herself down at the table and watched as David busied himself with dishing up their food. Nearly five months ago, David Wicks waltzed back into her life and turned everything that she knew upon its head. Her relationship with Masood had no doubt suffered as a result of David's reappearance but looking back at it now, Carol would not have had it any other way. He was always going to be the love of her life and nothing or no-one was ever going to change that. Derek wasn't around to spoil things this time, Max didn't approve of their relationship but Carol wasn't going to allow him to dictate who she could and couldn't see. She was simply grateful that they had been gifted another chance to make their relationship work, she just hoped that David wouldn't blow it like he had done the last time…

Their dinner was a long and drawn-out affair and despite the tiredness that Carol felt, she really did enjoy it. Neither her nor David had much time to themselves since they'd got engaged so she was grateful that Bianca had agreed to take the kids out for the night to give them some alone time. She made a mental note to thank her eldest daughter the next morning for sacrificing her own Valentine's Night for them. Carol felt sure that Terry would've wanted to do something special for Bianca, as it was their first Valentine's Day together too but nonetheless, she really appreciated the gesture.

David was insistent about doing the washing up after their meal, he wasn't going to allow Carol to lift a finger that evening. While David did the washing up, she took the box of chocolates that he had brought her with the roses into the living room and settled herself upon the sofa. The box of chocolates were set down upon the coffee table as she didn't want to be greedy and eat them all herself, she wanted to share them with David, he had brought them after all.

Once the washing up had been done, David joined his fiancée in the living room, he sat himself upon the sofa and moments later, Carol shuffled towards him and made herself comfortable. She brought the chocolates with her and sat them upon his lap as he draped his left arm over her shoulders, bringing her closer. Carol's head rested contentedly against his shoulder as they silently picked at the chocolates in David's lap, neither of them spoke, nor did they feel the need to do so. They were both happy to bask in the silence and enjoy the luxury of an empty house, it wasn't very often that they were afforded such an opportunity and both Carol and David were determined to make the most of it. "Thank you David," she murmured softly, breaking the contented silence that lingered between the two of them.

"What for?" David questioned.

"The card, the flowers, the chocolates, the dinner, I could go on," Carol replied, "but seriously, I just wanted to thank you for making tonight so special."

"You don't think that's it, do you?" David asked her, "I've got a little something else up my sleeve."

"You got me the big white fluffy bear?"

David laughed and shook his head, "I didn't but if you're that desperate for it, I could always ask Whit to see if Lucy wants it taking off her hands," he told her.

Carol shook her head, "you're alright," she replied, "what else have you got me anyway?"

She watched intently as David delved into one of the inside pockets of his suit jacket to find the little black box he'd put in there earlier that evening. Once he had found it, he put the box into Carol's lap, she looked up at him with a slight look of confusion painted upon her face, "open it," David urged her.

Carol smiled and cast aside the half-eaten box of chocolates, she picked up the small box that David had placed in her lap and lifted the lid. The revelation of what was inside completely took Carol's breath away, nestled in the red velvet was a white-gold ring, three-stone diamond, an engagement ring to be precise. "David," she breathed, "it's…it's beautiful," she finally added, it was clear she was struggling to find the words to describe how she felt about his romantic gesture.

"Just like you then," he told her as he kissed the top of her head. Carol sat up and turned to face David as he took the box from her, her heartbeat increasing tenfold in her chest, she knew exactly what he was going to do next as he took her left hand into his right hand, "seeing as though we are actually engaged to be married, I thought I'd better seal the deal with a ring, I can't have anyone preying on my future wife," he added.

It sounded a wildly possessive thing to say but David certainly hadn't meant it that way, he had waited so many years to be with Carol and he didn't want anyone spoiling it now that they were finally engaged. He slid the ring onto her fingers and Carol couldn't prevent the tears welling up in her eyes as she watched, "I've waited over half my life for you to do that," she confessed to him.

"I'd have done it sooner if I'd been around," he replied.

"How much sooner?"

For the briefest of moments, David thought about her question and eventually gave her an answer, "I'd have asked you to marry me as soon as you turned sixteen if I'd been around," he finally told her.

"It wouldn't have worked out though,"

"How can you be so sure?"

"We were so young David, and I think you'd have grown to resent me for tying you down so early in life," she told him simply, "it's better this way, isn't it?"

Deep down, David knew she was right. He had married Lorraine at eighteen and felt suffocated by the responsibilities of marriage and a family and eventually, he'd left her to bring up his two children by herself. With hindsight, he knew that he'd have probably done the exact same thing to Carol so it was for the best that he was forced out of the picture before he could make a firm commitment to her. Carol was right though, they had both grown up quite a bit since their days as teenage sweethearts, the only thing that hadn't changed was the fact that they couldn't resist each other. The chemistry and the spark between them was still as powerful as it had been back then, the many years they'd spent apart in their lifetimes did nothing to dull their feelings. "You're right Carol," David finally conceded, "it's definitely better this way."

Carol shifted her position on the sofa and climbed onto David's lap, straddling him. His hands instinctively moved to her waist to keep her steady, "isn't it just?" she replied.

She flung her arms over David's shoulders and closed the already small gap between them. Her lips quickly captured his in a kiss and David could not resist her bold advances, he didn't even want to resist. Their passionate and frenzied kiss was brought to an abrupt end when Carol broke away a few seconds later, "you're not expecting us to get married straight away, are you?" she questioned as her hands rested upon his shoulders.

"Where on Earth has that come from?" David replied curiously as his hands moved from her waist and settled upon her thighs.

"Just answer the question,"

David reached up and stroked her cheek with his hand, "I'm not expecting anything darling. For me right now, it's enough that we are actually engaged. We can do the wedding whenever you like, after your treatment or whenever you like, I won't be going anywhere," he told her, "what's brought this on anyway?"

"I just didn't want you to get your hopes up, thinking that you could make me Mrs. Wicks next week, or even next month. I want to be able to enjoy organising our wedding David, and while I'm having the chemo, I just don't think I could. Besides, it's not the most romantic thing in the world is it? Talking about table decorations and seating plans while I'm being pumped full of chemicals,"

Carol was trying to make light of the situation but David knew she was being serious as well, he wasn't going to push into doing anything she didn't want to do. Maybe next year, they could start thinking about planning their nuptials. He lifted Carol's left hand off his shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to its back, holding it tightly as he spoke, "I will marry you whenever you are ready," he told her, "I'd marry you tomorrow if I could."

She smiled softly, "if it wasn't for the cancer, I'd marry you tomorrow too," she replied, "but right now, I need to focus on fighting this. For me right now, it's enough to know that we will sort the wedding when the time is right, there's nothing wrong with enjoying being engaged for a while is there?"

David shook his head in agreement, "nothing whatsoever," he said before pressing a single, solitary kiss to her waiting lips, "I think it's time for bed," he suddenly announced.

Carol's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "eh?" she questioned.

"You can deny it all you want my darling, but you're tired and you need your rest,"

She shifted herself off his lap and smiled towards him, "what would I do without you eh?" she asked him.

David shrugged his shoulders as he stood up, "you'd probably end up running yourself into the ground," he replied, "now come on."

Carol was powerless to resist his order, he had no hidden agenda, he wasn't looking to get lucky on Valentine's Night, he simply wanted his fiancée to rest while she had the chance to. Everything downstairs was spotless, the only sign that a romantic Valentine's dinner had taken place were the half-eaten box of chocolates that were still upon the sofa, they would no doubt be finished off that very weekend. As David led Carol up the stairs and into their bedroom, the house was as cloaked in darkness as it had been when she had come home a few hours beforehand, the house was a haven of peace and quiet, for a change!

Coast is clear x

Carol stood at her bedroom window and sent that text to Bianca, letting her daughter know that she and the kids could now come back whenever they wanted. Moments later, David entered the room and moved towards her, his arms tightening around her waist, she leant back into his warm embrace. "Are you coming to bed or not?" he questioned quietly as he shifted the fluffy material of her pyjama top aside and pressed his lips to the join in her neck and shoulder.

She slowly nodded her head, "Bianca told me to text her when the coast was clear, she didn't want to walk in on any funny business, as she put it," Carol replied.

She switched her phone off and rested it on the bedside table, next to the Valentine's car that David had given her that morning. Carol got into bed and cuddled up to him, her left hand came to rest upon his chest. Her gaze kept catching the ring upon her finger and she couldn't help but smile as she gazed almost disbelievingly at it, "I still can't believe you did that, you know?" Carol told him.

"Did what?" David asked.

"Brought the ring," Carol replied.

"I had to put a ring on it sooner or later, and I figured I'd do it sooner because otherwise, you might forget that you're even engaged to me,"

"I could never forget that David, I did propose to you after all,"

"Fair point, but I wasn't going to take that chance!"

Carol reached upwards and pressed soft kiss to his lips before snuggling back down, "Night David, I love you," she told him.

"I love you too Carol," he replied, "sleep tight."

It was clear to David that she really had needed that early night because she was fast asleep within about five minutes He followed her soon after, safe and happy in the knowledge that their engagement was official, having finally managed to put a ring on it. The wedding would happen in the end and she would become Mrs. Wicks at last but for now, their situation was perfect as it was. Carol Jackson and David Wicks against the world, always and forever.

Comments/Reviews are as precious to me as David and Carol's kisses so click that button and let me know what you think ;)

xx