Chapter 7

Mon-El, James, and Winn stood outside of the store. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Winn asked. "This is a big step for both you and Kara."

"It seems like I've been ready when I woke up on this planet thinking I was alone, but Kara was there every step of the way," Mon-El said. "I want to do this in a way this planet does it. Kara would like that."

James smiled at Mon-El glad to see he knew her friend so well. "Kara would appreciate that," James stated. "That would definitely indicate you're ready."

The three men walked over to the entrance of the store and the sales associate with the name tag saying Sarah who stood at the entrance smiled at them. "Welcome to Jared's," she welcomed. "How can I help you today?"

Winn gently pushed Mon-El. "This one is looking for a ring for his girlfriend," he said.

Sarah's smiled brightened at the prospect of help picking out an engagement ring. "I can help you with that," she told them. She looked at him Mon-El. "Tell me about your girlfriend."

"Actually," Mon-El said. "I already have something in mind. I came in because I wanted to see the ring in person."

"Even better," she said. "What did you have in mind?"

Mon-El pulled out his phone and pulled up the picture of the ring he found on their site. He already had done his research and he had been in between two rings and the one Alex chose after training tipped the scales. "This one." He passed her over the phone to show her the ring he wanted.

There was two reasons why he needed to talk Alex. The first was to speak to about the ring, and he needed access to funds to buy the ring. Alex, with Winn's help, made it possible. Alex had also reminded him to sign his name as Michael Matthews and had made him practice his signature.

Sarah took a hard look at the picture. "I think you're in luck, sir, I think we have this ring in stock," she told him. She took the phone and gestured for the three of them to follow her. She went behind one of the counters and went to a register. She typed in the stock number and then passed the phone back to Mon-El as she hit enter. "Yes, you're in luck. We have it in stock." She walked over to the counter and pulled out the ring Mon-El was looking at.

"Since you took your time to look it up," she told him. "I don't have to use my sales pitch and tell you all about this ring."

Mon-El leaned over as he studied the ring on the counter as after Sarah placed the ring in a box. "No," he told her. "I don't need to hear it." He looked over at James and Winn. "What do you think? Will Kara love it?"

The other two men leaned over to study it as well. "I think you have a winner," Winn told him.

"I second that," James told him.

Mon-El stood up straight. "Bag it up," he said. He had watched enough movies, including chick flicks to see how all of this was done.

"Sure," Sarah said and walked back over to the register. She rang up Mon-El and took the card from him after told him the price with tax. She passed the receipt to him. "You keep the bottom receipt," she told him. "Just sign the top, Mr. Matthews." Mon-El almost forgot to sign it as Mike Matthews and almost wrote Mon-El instead.

After he signed the top one, Mon-El passed the receipt back to her, and Sarah gave him back his credit card. She boxed up the ring and placed it in a bag. "Good luck," she told him.

Winn snorted. "He'll need it," he stated as they walked out of the jewelry store.

"Well, that wasn't as disastrous as it could have been," Mon-El said. "Thanks for the backup."

"We were there to make sure you didn't compromise your identity," Winn told him.

James looked over at Winn. "You know as well as I how awkward he's been," James told him. "Yes, there were many ways that could've gone wrong, and it didn't."

Winn pondered. "So obviously, Kara Danvers will be Kara Matthews on paper for Earth," Winn said. "How did that work on Daxam? Did the women on your planet take your last name?"

Mon-El smiled. "No," he said. Then paused for a moment as he thought about it. "Well, sort of. You know how her technically maiden name is Kara Zor-El, right?"

The other two men nodded.

"If she were to agree to marry me and take my name, her married name would be Kara Mon-El," Mon-El stated.

"Clark had once stated to me that they did the same thing on Krypton," James said. When both Mon-El and Winn gave him odd looks, he continued, "I asked him once when he was thinking about asking Lois to marry him, and he told me. I was best man at his wedding when he married her."

"We do ascend from Kryptonians," Mon-El said. "That's why I share so many of the same abilities as Kara minus a few exceptions and have those abilities to powered by the Yellow Sun."

"Apparently, you are more like your ancestors than you think," Winn stated.

It made James think about what Mon-El had told them a few months ago. "You once told us you had arranged marriages when you lived on Daxam," he remembered. "Who was your bethroned?"

Mon-El stopped when he realized he hadn't thought of Ilia in a very long time. "Ilia was the exact opposite of Kara," he told her. "She was the ultimate party girl. She was in my bed when Krypton was destroyed. The guard took me, and Ilia and I were separated. I don't even know if she survived or not." Mon-El's mind drifted. "Or if she's still alive or not." The old him wouldn't have given her a second thought, but the new him, who wanted to be worthy of Kara's love, would wonder about Ilia.

"So, she's probably someone we wouldn't have to worry about," Winn said.

Despite Winn's comments, James thought Mon-El had turned melancholy. "You are allowed to stop and wonder and think about her for a moment," James said. "But don't let the past drag you down."

"Exactly," Winn said. "Do you know how you want to pop the question?"

"Pop the question..." Mon-El trailed off before remembering what that meant. "A few, but it's going to take a few days."

James and Winn looked at each other before looking back at Mon-El. "Do you need any help with setting things up?" James asked.

"No," Mon-El said. "I got it from here." He looked over at Winn. "Tell Alex thanks for the access it was appreciated."

"Yeah, sure," Winn said as he watched Mon-El walked away from them. "How is it that he's the one who's managed to snag Kara's heart?"

"I've been asking myself that question for quite a few weeks," James said.

"I do have to say I haven't seen her look happier," Winn said. "So that's something."

James smiled. "It is something," he said. "Minus their abilities, Kara and Clark have a lot in common. When they fall in love someone, they manage to put their whole love and faith in that one person. Lois is that person for Clark. I hope Mon-El is that person for Kara."