Over the next few months, Don was a man on a mission. He felt like he was constantly doing reconnaissance. Every question he asked her, it seemed, went to his ulterior motive. He knew that Sloan wouldn't move in with him until he asked her to marry him, so it was pointless to ask her to sell her place and come live with him in his. He needed to try and gauge how she felt without coming right out and asking her, "So, if I proposed to you, would you want to live here?"

He began to think that though his apartment was spacious enough for both of them, and though it was certainly nice enough she might not want to live there with him. He liked her apartment, but didn't think it was big enough for both of them and all of their shit. Maybe they'd want a different place, a third option, that would be theirs and not her moving into his place (which was what he'd envisioned back when these thoughts were nebulous "what ifs" in his mind). He started asking a lot of speculative questions. Sloan loved to talk, so he tried to ask questions she'd enjoy answering, all the while squirreling the information away for future use.

One evening when they were making dinner in Don's kitchen, he asked her, "I know you like your place, and I like mine, and they're both really nice, but what else are you looking for in a place? What things is your place missing that you'd really like?"

Sloan narrowed her eyes, as if she were trying to figure out where the question was coming from. "Why are you asking that?" she asked as she slid slices of cucumber into the salad she was making.

"Well, I hope one day, eventually, we'll live together," he said with a smile. "I was thinking we could keep one of our places, but I'm sure there's things they're both lacking. I was just curious as to what you'd want in a place, if you could choose it." he said casually, then turned to look into the oven as if he was checking on the homemade pizza he'd created so she wouldn't see his smile. "For example, I'd love a bigger kitchen," he continued.

"Oh, well, that makes sense," Sloan said. "Well, each of our places has only two bedrooms. I think we'd need three- bedroom, office, and guest room. Or a bedroom and two offices. I think we have to have an en suite bath, and at least one more full bathroom. I'd like a bigger dining room than either of us have, and more of the old woodwork mine has. I'd love a bigger fireplace, and I think I'd want hardwood throughout, except in the bathroom. What do you think?" she asked him as she chopped carrots.

"I think your reasoning is sound," he said, as he reached into the oven to pull the pizza and pizza stone out. "It's just food for thought," he went on. "And now, let's eat this actual food!"

They put the hockey game on (an exhibition away game for the Rangers, which was why they were watching it on TV instead of at the Garden) and ate the salad Sloan had made, and the pizza he'd made, and drank beer and yelled at the TV. When the game was over and Sloan was drunk and tired, they made their way to his bedroom.

When Don came out of the bathroom he found Sloan asleep, still on top of the covers. God, she's so beautiful, he thought. I really have to make this special. I have to sweep her off her feet. She deserves for this to be the most memorable time in her life, especially with what happened with her last engagement. He went and grabbed his laptop and sat down on the bed next to her. When she didn't stir, he logged in to the real estate site he liked to check out now and again. Their listings always had a plethora of photos of the places on the market, and the agent who helped him with this apartment worked with them.

He put in the criteria Sloan had set. En suite bath, another full bath, hardwoods, three bedrooms at least… He clicked 'search' and was delighted by the list that was generated. He went through and looked at each of them in turn, ruling out some places based on location, and he came up with five places he felt best fit the specifications they were looking for. He started thinking of ways he could sneak out of ACN during the day to pop over and see places without Sloan knowing, but they spent so much time together- she would notice him leaving and ask where he was going, and if he managed to slip out unobserved he would be bombarded with questions when he returned, and frankly, he didn't think he could hold up to a barrage of questions from Sloan Sabbith. She would pummel him with words and he would crack.

He needed help. He needed someone who wouldn't spill the beans, could hold up to Sloan's incessant questions, and wouldn't break under pressure. He needed someone to run interference. But who? Mackenzie was the first thought, because she could take Sloan out, or give her things to do, but she'd never be able to resist telling Sloan that Don was looking for apartments to share with her and that he was planning to propose. Mackenzie would hear "propose" and immediately start screaming with excitement. No Mac. He needed Will.

Will could do everything Mac could, but he would never crack. Don decided to talk to Will on Monday, first thing in the morning.


On Monday Don and Sloan arrived at ACN together, as they did after most weekends. Don walked Sloan to her office and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I need to go talk to Will for a minute," he said. "I'll see you at the meeting at 11:00?"

Sloan smiled at him. "I'll be there. See you in a little while."

Don walked down the hall and poked his head into Will's office. Will was in the process of hanging up his coat on the coat rack in the corner. "Hey, can I talk to you?" Don asked as Will turned around and saw him in the doorway.

"Yeah, come on in," Will said and smiled. Mackenzie and Sloan's friendship had brought Will and Don together often, and the more time Will spent with Don, the more he liked him. They went to hockey games and met for drinks while the girls went to the ballet or went shopping, and they found that they liked a lot of the same things.

Don closed the office door and sat down across from Will. He looked down at his hands when Will gave him a scrutinizing gaze. Finally, Will said, "Are you in trouble, or are you about to be?"

Don grinned. "Actually, neither, but for this to go well I'm going to need your help."

Will narrowed his eyes. "Proceed."

So Don explained what he wanted to do, which was to go out and see apartments during the day and figure out which ones he thought Sloan would like the best. Simultaneously, he would also be shopping for a ring. He knew he was looking for an emerald-cut solitaire. He knew that was the cut Sloan loved, and he had an appointment at Harry Winston the next day at 11:00 AM to pick one out, pay for it and have it sized. Once he found the right place and had the ring in his possession, he would move to Phase Two of the plan. One afternoon he would leave, then text her the address of the apartment and ask him to meet him there. Once she arrived, he'd show her around, and then propose. "The minute details have yet to be worked out, but that's what I'm envisioning," Don said.

"You do realize this is going to take a lot of effort and luck, right?" Will said.

"Sloan is worth every ounce of effort. And I need your help if I'm going to pull this off." Don said.

"So what do I do, Don? Pick her up to prevent her from leaving?" Will asked. "I mean, this is not 1860. She has a mind of her own."

"Tomorrow at 11:00 she thinks I'm going to the dentist. I'll be at Harry Winston choosing and paying for the ring. I'm heading to see an apartment on West 57th and 8th Avenue from there. On days when I have appointments to see other places I'm going to need you to come up with something for her to be doing- research for the show, or something. I don't know, but we need to keep her busy a few days this week or next."

"Are we sure we can't enlist Mac in this?" Will asked. "She can come up with a million reasons to keep Sloan busy. Plus, if I tell Sloan she's doing research for a segment she's doing, Mac's going to have to know about how much time we need for it, and in which Block…" Will sighed. "Mac's going to get annoyed with me monkeying with her run-down, Sloan's going to get mad that I keep making her do research for things that Mac cuts… This isn't going to be easy, Don." Will finished.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something. Please, Will, I need this. Sloan has been treated badly by pretty much every guy she's ever dated, including the fiance who cheated on her the week of their wedding. I need to show her that I'll go to the ends of the Earth to please her."

"You're lucky I'm a hopeless romantic, Don," Will said. "OK, go to your appointments tomorrow, and let me know how they go. We'll proceed with a day-by-day plan from there. Sound OK?" Will asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Don stood up and walked to the door. As he stood there holding it open, he turned back and said, "Thanks, Will."

"Don't thank me. Sloan deserves this. And you're going to sweep her off her feet with this plan."

Don smiled. "I hope so. Oh, and I think it goes without saying that you can not tell Mac about any of this." He pointed at Will. "Please. Do NOT let Mackenzie know."

Will laughed. "I won't. But she's going to be so mad she missed out on the fun," Will said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she kills you, then kills me, once she finds out we kept this from her." Don laughed and headed up the hall to his office.