Eric walked into the locker room to find that it was unoccupied. He was sure Lauren would be in there; Calleigh and Speed had already left for the night, and Horatio was working on some last minute paperwork. Eric shrugged his shoulders, and headed over to his locker.
As he gathered up his belongings, Eric thought about today's events. He enjoyed working with Lauren very much. It almost felt like he was working with Speed. Eric smiled to himself then thought, 'if only she wasn't seeing someone.' He really liked her.
Just as Eric was about to shut his locker door he looked up to see Lauren walk by him. She was wearing a simple black bra and boy shorts underwear; she had just gotten out of the shower. He smiled to himself again and followed her. "I thought you left," Eric said still smiling.
Lauren turned to him, and smiled back as she pulled on a loose fitting t-shirt. "I needed a shower. I felt gross. Plus it's date night with the boy," Laure winked.
Eric laughed. "You're going to meet up with your boyfriend?"
"That's what I just said, didn't I?" Lauren said as she slipped on a pair of black leggings.
Just as Eric was about to respond, Lauren's cell phone rang. "I'll let you get that."
"Thank you." Lauren looked down at the caller ID; it was Speed. "Speaking of the boy."
"Well, then you better answer it," Eric said smiling.
"Hey babe… Yeah. I'm leaving in a few minutes. I just have to take a quick shower… Okay. I'll see you in a little bit. I love you… Bye." She ended the called and tossed her phone into her gym bag. Neither of the two said anything for a moment; Lauren was gathering up her belongings.
Eric saw the sparkle in Lauren's eyes when she spoke with her boyfriend. He had no chance with her. "Well, I'll let you get going. It was nice working with you today, Lauren. I hope we can work more cases together."
Lauren agreed. "It was nice working with you today too, but the case isn't over yet, Delko… I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course. Have a good night, Lauren."
"Thanks. You too, Eric," Lauren said as she exited the locker room.
Speed parked his Ducati, and waited for Lauren to arrive at the boardwalk. Speed reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box. He felt nervous. He shouldn't be. Speed knew Lauren was his happily ever after. They had been talking about getting married for the past six months now. Lauren wouldn't say no.
Speed turned around when he heard a car pull up behind him. He knew that sound. It was Lauren's car. Speed took a deep breath to calm himself as he walked over to the driver's side door. "I thought you forgot me," Speed said opening Lauren's door.
Lauren smiled. "Forget about you? Please, my love. I could never forget about you," she said as she exited her car. Lauren wrapped her arms around Speed's neck and went in for a kiss.
Speed broke away and looked down into her sparkling eyes. "I love you."
"I love you." Lauren kissed him soundly on the lips then added, "Shall we get going?"
He smiled. "We shall." Speed took a hold of Lauren's hand, and they walked down to the boardwalk.
Speed and Lauren walked hand-in-hand down the boardwalk. The boardwalk was far from busy. Not maybe people came at night during the weekdays. There were only a few other people walking around: a teenage couple heading down to the beach, and a photographer in his late twenties getting some shots of the boardwalk.
Speed noticed Lauren watching the photographer as he shot some photos of the Ferris wheel. He couldn't help, but wonder if she missed being a full-time photographer. It seemed like when she wasn't working she was playing with her camera, searching for new lenses, or trying new photography techniques.
"You miss that don't you," Speed said nodding in the photographer's direction.
"Huh?" Lauren said breaking from her thoughts.
"You miss being a full-time photographer, don't you," Speed said again as he wrapped his arms around Lauren's waist.
"Yeah. I do. But I love being a police officer."
"Do you regret not taking that job offer?" He kissed the nape of her neck.
She thought about his question for a moment before answering. "When work gets tough I sometimes do, but no not really. I just wish I had more free time for my photography, but I could see myself having a part-time business in the future. Maybe after we get married and have a couple kids."
Speed's heart skipped a beat when Lauren said, married. It was time for him to pop the question. He reached into his left pants pocket and grasped the ring box. "What do you say we forget about work and all the what-ifs and head to the beach?"
Lauren looked up at him and smiled. "Sounds good."
Speed took a hold of Lauren's hand, and led her to the beach. The teenage couple they had spotted earlier was lying on a beach towel kissing.
Once they found a nice spot on the beach, they sat down on the soft, cool sand. Speed wrapped his arm around Lauren's waist and pulled her close to him. "You know I've been thinking about things."
Lauren linked her arm with his and snuggled up close to him as a cool breeze swept in. "Yeah? What kind of things?"
"About us," Speed said kissing the side of her cheek.
Lauren smiled. "I love us."
"Me too." Speed reached into his pants pocket again, and pulled out the little black box that held Lauren's engagement ring. It was a simple one-karat halo cushion-cut diamond ring. Flanking the round-cut diamond on both sides were smaller diamonds set in the white gold band.
"We've had a lot of amazing memories together over the years as college kids and young adults. I'd love to continue making memories together, but as husband and wife and as parents." Lauren gasped when she saw the little black box. "Lauren Dawson, will you marry me?" He opened the box and revealed her engagement ring
Lauren put her hands to her mouth in shock and said, "Oh my God! Tim!" Happy tears started flowing from her eyes. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"
Speed plucked to ring from the small pillow it was sitting in. Lauren held out her left hand, and Speed slipped the ring on her ring finger then he looked up at her and grinned. She grinned back. "I love you, Lauren."
"I love you, Tim," she said leaning in for a long and passionate kiss. They were getting married.