He'd found the ring two months before Alexander's birth. He'd been going through some of the gold and jewelry left over from the tomb. The plan had been to sell some of it off to an Antiques shop. Yes much of it was priceless, but he really needed to pay off a few old gambling debts. And the jewels from that crazy old man's grave were going to help get him out of trouble. Really he ought to thank the old boy, if it weren't for that necklace, who knows where he and Ilona would be. She absolutely treasured it, he'd often seen her fidgeting with it, a smile on her face.
Although to be fair, Jonathan was pretty sure that even without the necklace, he and Ilona would have ended up together. She was stubborn when she wanted to be.
And lo and behold, there amongst the jewelry spread out on his bed, was the ring. He almost laughed. It was an exact match to the necklace he'd given her before. It was an intricate silver ring, with a single beautiful sapphire placed in the center. But of course he'd never noticed before. The necklace was part of a set.
He thought of how lovely it would look on her finger, as a wedding band.
However, at this point, they'd only been together for five months, so he thought it best to wait.
Jonathan tossed the ring up into the air and caught it. It was four months after baby Alexander's birth, and Evey really was a natural mother. Jonathan couldn't help but wonder a little about his namesake. What was Rick's brother like? What's he a good father to Ilona? He was so young when he'd had her, only 15.
Jonathan tried to imagine himself as a father at 15. Hell, he could hardly imagine himself as a father now!
But her father, Alex, must have been a kind man. Ilona loved him dearly.
He wondered what Alex would think of him. Would he approve of him, let him marry his daughter?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Jonathan still remembered the threatening he had gotten from Rick after that night at the fountain.
He shook his head.
It was a vast contrast to the reaction he had gotten when he'd asked for Rick's blessing to marry Ilona.
He swore he hadn't seen such shock on Rick's face since Hamunaptra. He'd said something along the lines of 'you really are serious about her?'. And when Jonathan had confirmed that yes he was serious, otherwise he wouldn't be asking her to marry him, Rick had gone silent.
'Yes'
And that was all.
Of course he had to tell Evey beforehand, she would surely kill him if he waited till after the proposal to let her know. She had grinned in delight, cradling baby Alexander in her arms.
"I knew it," she said "I could tell you were going to last from the start."
And he honestly believed her. She probably knew that he and Ilona liked each other before they even knew themselves. She had made a few teasing comments back when they were first friends. Now Ilona and he had been together for 9 months
"How should I ask her?" he questioned, ignoring her bragging.
Evey's face grew a bit more serious.
"I can't tell you how, because I don't know how you should do it. Do whatever feels right." She nodded
"Goodness, thank you for the strangely vague, and mostly useless advice..." Jonathan rolled his eyes.
"Ugh Jonathan, don't be a fool. Propose in a way that will make her happy." Evey responded, rocking her baby.
Jonathan thanked her and left to ponder this advice. He really wasn't cut out for romantic stuff like this. He wondered what to do to make her happy.
And then it hit him. It was a fairly simple idea, nothing grand, but it just might work.
Ilona was currently blindfolded in the passenger seat of Jonathan's car. It was fairly late at night. She had grinned when he had presented her the fabric and told her to put it on. And well she couldn't exactly help herself, she had to say it.
"My goodness Jonathan! I never expected you to go for this sort of thing..." She raised her eyebrows at him, a teasing smile on her lips.
And he had turned a bit red. Really she loved to do that to him, catch him off guard. So often she was the one blushing, it was rather nice to watch him look away and rub the back of his neck.
"Birdie, just trust me. Will you put it on?" He asked nonchalantly.
She obeyed still smiling as he led her to the car. The ride was a bit long, but she didn't mind, Jonathan and her conversed as if she wasn't blindfolded at all.
When they arrived at their unknown destination he carefully helped her out of the car and led her away. He told her to keep her eyes closed as he undid the cloth. And when he was done he told her to open them. They stood in a vast field, it was almost pitch black out. Jonathan was carrying a little lantern he had brought along, it cast a warm glow over both their faces.
"Tell me you didn't take me to this remote location in the middle of the night to kill me." She joked.
"Worse, I took you here for a picnic." He shot back in amusement.
He laid out a blanket that they sat on, and took out a basket filled with snacks. Jonathan handed her some of the food.
"Well if you were trying to bribe me, it's worked. You've exploited my one weakness, food." She said as she sat cross-legged next to him.
After they had finished their snacks, Jonathan turned off the lantern. Ilona tilted her head as she asked him why he did that. In response he told her to lay back on the blanket. Obligingly she did so.
And she gasped at what she saw. Thousands of stars were scattered above them, decorating the night sky. She hadn't seen them before, the lantern had covered them, working as light pollution.
It was beautiful.
"I've never seen so many stars in my life." She gasped excitedly, lacing her fingers with his.
"You told me before, at the fountain, that you've always loved the stars." He spoke softly. He could feel his heart racing.
"I have. Jonathan this is amazing! Thank you." She spoke earnestly. She turned to look at him.
Both of their eyes had adjusted to the dark, so they could see each other clearly. He untangled their hands and sat up. She followed suit, sitting up next to him, puzzled.
And then he pulled out the ring from his pocket.
She gasped almost inaudibly.
"Ilona, will you marry me?" He asked softly.
For a moment she was silent, and he considered for the first time the possibility that she would say no.
And then she cried out:
"Yes!"
He held out the ring and grasped her left hand, silently asking to slip it on.
And she accepted it.
(A/N): Almost at the end folks, only one chapter left. I really hope you guys have enjoyed this story, your words of encouragement have kept me going! Please Review! Stay tuned for the epilogue...