Then it occurred to Reid that something very, very important hadn't made the list. He'd neglected to ask Maeve's father for permission to propose… That probably had more than a little to do with the fact that, although he knew that he had to if he was going to go about this the right way, and despite the fact that both of Maeve's parents seemed to really, really like him… Nothing, scared him more than Joe Donovan saying "no". If Maeve said no when he actually proposed, that was one thing… (and in all honesty he doubted she would). But if her father said no… then Reid would feel as if he'd been taken to prison. His hands would be tied… he loved Maeve more than anything, more than his own life… but that was precisely why he wanted to do this the right way. He wanted to do this so that he wouldn't be the cause of any family rifts… he knew that Maeve would be more than willing to go ahead with it, with or without her father's blessing, but Spencer also knew that she loved her parents enough that it would hurt her to do so, and he wouldn't feel right causing the love of his life that kind of pain.
He picked up his house phone and dialed the number for Maeve's parents' house. It rang once, twice, three…four times… each ring, each second, passing for Reid like an agonizingly long hour… Before finally, he answered…
"M-Mr. Donovan…?" He asked, trying not to sound anywhere near as nervous as he actually was.
"Spencer…? That you?"
"Yes Sir…" Reid replied.
"I thought I told you before, drop the formality… call be Joe…"
"Ok…um Joe… you and I need to talk…privately…"
"This about my Maeve?"
"Yes…"
"Meet me behind the humanities building at Georgetown in an hour…"
"I'll be there." He hung up and slumped back into his recliner. He knew what Joe was thinking… he was a smart man, he most likely had at least some inclination of what this was about… and by picking the time and place, he'd established his dominance… this was happening on his turf and he was calling the shots.
Reid got to his feet and went into the kitchen, he felt like he was about to throw up… he had to do this right… but this was one part of this process that although he knew had to be done, he hadn't researched or prepared for at all…
Unable to focus, but not wanting to leave to early, he simply paced the length of his apartment for a while until he could leave.
When he got there he found Joe Donovan waiting, standing on a bridge over-looking a stream that ran through a small wooded area behind the building. He seemed to be deep in thought.
Reid walked toward him, even as he stepped onto the bridge, Joe seemed oblivious to his presence.
"Joe?"
The older man almost literally jumped.
"Oh…Spencer… Good to see you again…"
"You too… um sir…I…uh…"
"I know what this is about…"
"You do…?"
"You two have been together a year and a half now…counting those first ten months she was in hiding, since then and…really even before that… I could tell that you two were perfect for each other…it's not hard to see the writing on the wall…"
"I love her…"
"I know you do… which is why this doesn't come as much of a surprise…" He sighed, then continued. "You know…some guys don't even bother with this part anymore… who cares what the parents think, and besides…it's nerve wracking right? I remember when I asked Mary's dad… God…the old man scared me half to death… I thought he'd murder me, or worse…say no… plus I can see you shaking… This ain't easy… I get that… and I appreciate that you love her enough to show the respect to come here…"
"Mr. Donovan…Joe… Maeve means more to me than anything else in the world, I want to spend the rest of my life with her…and if she feels the same way… well then I'm the luckiest man on the planet…but I need the chance to find that out for myself…"
"I know… this ain't easy for me either you know… what you're asking… I know it's right… I know that you're her other half and it's damn well time I stopped getting in the way of that. But you have to understand…and maybe you don't…yet… she's my little girl…and saying yes… means that I finally have to admit that she's not my little girl anymore…Daddy's little princess grew up, and pretty soon she'll be gone…"
"I think I can gather that much…"
"But that's not the point… the point is that she's not my little girl anymore… and we both love her… so yes…yes please… go make her happy… just know that if you hurt her…well your friends will never know what happened to you…"