Disclaimer: I understand Hart Hanson and FOX have ownership rights to all 'Bones' concepts, characters, and dialog. This is intended to be simple Fan Fiction for the enjoyment of the author and any readers.

Later Tuesday Morning

Long's Fine Jewelers

Burlington, Massachusetts

"Why are we here?" Emily asked. Her intelligent logical mind could not comprehend why he would bring her to such a store … except, maybe?

David reached over and took her hand. "I don't know the usual custom in the nineteenth century, but in the twenty-first century a man gives his fiancée an engagement ring." David watched as Emily mouth opened slightly and her eyes widened. "Sometime the guy gets it before hand and gives it to her when she accepts his proposal." He smiled and smirked a little. "I really didn't have time to do that, plus I think it's a better idea that we pick it out together."

Emily stared at him as her brain comprehended his words. She glanced back to the very elegant looking store. "Ahh, usually in my time, a girl would remove the end of a sewing thimble and it would become a ring to show her engagement. " She looked back into David's eyes as her brain began to realize what he had planned.

David smiled at her again, "I planned on something a little nicer than that for you … ah, do you have a preference for yellow gold or white gold for the band? What about the shape of the diamond?"

"Gold? … Diamond!?" Emily choked out.

"Oh, you probably aren't familiar with…don't worry about it, we'll look around and you can decide what you like." David looked at her blank stunned face. Then he grinned as he reached over and gently closed her gaping mouth. "Take a breath, calm down, this is normal. I love you and I want you to have nice things. This is just the first one. Don't worry about the cost, please. I'll do that…" he chuckled. "I want you to look at everything and let me know what you like… if you don't find exactly what you want here, we can check out another jewelry store. I think there is another one across the street in the mall."

Emily's brain tried to calm her overly emotional self. "I, I, I, do not need such a fancy ring…"

"Emily, it has nothing to do with need. I know I don't need to show how much I love you with some fancy ring, but I want to. I want to give you something nice." He leaned closer to her, looked in her eyes and sternly said, "Miss Deschanel, we are going into that store and we are going to look at a bunch of expensive elegant diamond and gold engagement rings. You will happily pick the one you like the best and you will not protest about the expense. Do you understand?" His eyes bored into her now wide moist eyes.

Emily felt a little intimidated by him for the first time since their first conversation. She gulped, "Ok…"

He winked, grinned and leaned closer and kissed the tip of her nose, then pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. "You're a logical, intelligence, independent woman, but for this situation you need to be an emotional giggly girl for what I hope you will remember as one of the happiest days of your life. Let me be the traditional anthropological alpha male in this moment claiming you for my mate. Ok?"

Her few seconds of anxious reaction to his coercive demeanor were gone with his explanation. She may not have fully understood the phasing, but she clearly understood his point. It was important to him. It was a physical sign of his commitment to her and her to him. She accepted it and leaned into him and gently kissed him. Leaning back in her seat, she looked at him seriously for a second then grinned, raised her left eyebrow slightly and… "Heeee" came out from between grinning lips.

"That's my girl! Let's go and get you a big ass diamond!"

"Diamonds have large bottoms?" She asked with a grin as she looped her arm into his.

After they entered the large tasteful shop, they were soon greeted by a gentleman impeccably attired in a dark suit. A short conversation was enough to direct them to a long case of glass and wood. Emily was a little surprised at the shopkeeper's apparel. After the shock of Angela's business suit and now this shopkeeper, she felt a little relieved that people do, on occasion; wear something close to what she considered normal attire in this age. In moments she found herself looking into a glass covered case with rows upon rows of rings. They mostly appeared to be a silver metal color, some were gold and a very few a blend of both, all with various numbers of small very bright crystals in various shapes and sizes attached. She had never seen a diamond, only read about them in books about royalty and the very rich. She knew they were very rare and very expense. Now there they were, in front of her, more than she could have ever imagined seeing in one place.

"Emily doesn't have a preference for the band or the shape of the stone, so, we would like to look at a variety." David stated calmly to the gentleman as Emily forced a smile in his direction. "We were thinking something in the ten or twelve thousand range." David continued as his eyes scanned along the display. In his mind, he was thinking, the mustang would be fine for another year or two, this was more important.

Emily froze. 'No', she thought, he cannot mean dollars. Ten thousand must be a, a, she could not think of what David could possibly be thinking. A flat padded cloth covered holder was placed in front of her with a selection of more than a dozen rings stuck in it. She leaned closer and stared down at the bright sparkling stones as she vaguely heard words around her. The five 'C's ; Cut, carats, color, clarity, certification. She managed to pull her eyes from the rings and looked up to David realizing he had asked her something.

"Emily?" David finally got her attention. "Bill is going to explain about diamonds for us." And so he did, for twenty minutes, Emily's brain was immersed in diamond knowledge. At the end she felt she actually had a good understanding of how to make an intelligent decision about diamonds; as much as such a thing was possible in her current emotional state.

It didn't take too long to narrow their choices to about a half dozen rings. She had quickly decided she fancied the round cut and a simple band style in white gold. After some back and forth bickering with Bill taking a few strategic visits to other areas of the showroom, they agreed on a simple band of her choice, but David then insisted they upgrade to a larger very similar style of stone to the one she preferred, but with a higher quality of clarity and color than Emily had originally picked. In her mind, Emily tried to pick a ring under the ten thousand figure, but once David insisted on the better quality and larger size, the price was back close to twelve thousand. Remembering his insistence in the mustang, she smiled and agreed. In her heart, she loved the ring, everything about it was amazing. In her logical brain, it seemed an astounding expense. Once their choice was final, Bill measured her finger with what looked like a dozen very plain metal rings on a larger loop. She shook her head slightly and thought to herself that most of the mill girls, her included, would be very happy to have an engagement ring half as fine as one of these simple measuring rings.

After being told it would be about an hour or more to size and polish the ring, David decided they would go to the Office Depot nearby and checkout desks and a computer for her. She trailed along behind him in the store again taking in the variety of new things. The desk was an easy decision. He suggested one the same as his. She was happy with the choice. He had her try a number of different chairs. She was surprised they moved up and down besides the rolling and spinning that she had noticed with his chair at home … home? His home was her home now… she smiled up at him as she spun around slowly in the chair she picked.

Next, a computer, she saw very little difference, but he spent quite a bit of time reviewing small details about each one with the store clerk.

"Emily, are there any supplies or ah, something personal you want for your desk?"

"I don't know what you mean?"

David laughed, "Usually people like to add a few small personal things to their workspace, err, their desk usually. Didn't you or any of the other women have something of your own at your workstations in the mill?"

"No, why?"

"It helps to make your work place a little more pleasant, ah, personal, I don't know comforting maybe?" David shrugged. "I have an Eli Manning squeeze doll on my desk. When I get mad or frustrated at something, it helps me relax to punish Eli."

Emily looked at him blankly. "Who is Eli?"

David hesitated, 'did he really want to relive two super bowl disasters trying to explain why he hated the New York quarterback?' "It's not important … I'll explain some other time if you really want to know. So, did the mill owners not let you bring personal things into the mill?"

"I do not think anyone ever thought about it. We did not have so many things," Emily waved her hand around the store, "that we would want to bring anything into the mill. Also, the mill was not clean; it was dusty and dirty." She shrugged.

David looked at her. A great feeling of sadness flowed over him. He reached out and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here…" In that moment a thought crossed his mind, 'Sometimes it's the casual comments about little things that make you understand how lucky we are…'

After a few more minutes of wandering around the store while David picked a few supplies he needed and knew she would use also, they checked out with all their purchases. With a little help from one of the young store clerks, they managed to get everything into the mustang. Emily looked at the heavy flat box that had the word 'desk' on the side that the two guys struggled with to get in the backseat of the mustang. Her mind went back to the desk in the store as her eyes looked at the flat box. Huh? The box with the word 'chair' on the side was worked into the large opening in the back of the mustang along with the computer box. The monitor and the bag of the other small purchases were fitted around the larger boxes in the mustang.

Lunch was at a small Italian restaurant in the Mall. Emily was impressed at the quiet cozy atmosphere, the fancy heavy linen table cloth and well-dressed wait staff. David chose it because he knew it was a very nice romantic place. He made sure to pick a small table located out of the way in the shadows. They sat holding hands and quietly talking about not much of importance, just enjoying their time together.

Almost two hours after they left they were back at Long's. Bill saw them come in, greeted them and went into the back to get the ring.

Emily had noticed that David seem a little nervous, she could not think why. The lunch had been wonderful. He had been so attentive to her. Loving. She could not have thought of a more perfect place for a quiet little personal celebration of their engagement. Her mind kept returning to the same thoughts, a few days and her life was changed to something she could not have begun to imagine. David would be her husband, she his wife. A wife to a man she truly loved with all her heart. A man she knew loved her, respected her as a person, would protect and care for her. Days ago, she had almost given up on it happening for her. Now, she would have a life beyond her wildest dreams. A life of choices, respect and love, plus a job that was intellectually challenging and stimulating. All of it was because of him. Emily pulled her mind from her musings and tried to blink the moisture from her eyes as Bill approached with a small royal blue velvet box.

When the box was opened Emily could not help but let a small gasp escape. She never would have thought such a thing, a ring, would affect her as it did. The brilliance of the diamond sparkled up at her from the box. She froze, staring at it. She watched as David's fingers reached in and pulled it from the box. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the shopkeeper step back a few steps and smile at them. A woman who apparently also worked in this shop moved over and stood beside him and smiled at her. Emily brain started to register something…she was not sure what was happening…

"Emily…" David took her left hand with his left hand while holding the ring with his right.

"Huh, yes?" Emily choked out as she watched David slowly get down on one knee. She gasped again as her right hand covered her mouth.

"I know I asked you last night, but I also know you're a traditional girl," David raised one eyebrow slightly at her, which caused a small stifled giggle to slip from Emily. "From the day you first arrived in my life you changed it for me. I knew you were special, difference from any other girl I ever knew. I want you in my life. I need you in my life. Thirty, forty, fifty years, or more, whatever fate gives us. I want them with you. I love you, Emily Deschanel. Please be my wife."

David slipped the ring on to Emily's trembling finger and then pulled her into a loving embrace as she spudded out a 'yes' through tears.

Light applause broke out among the few people in the store. Bill's co-worker leaned over to him and whispered, "That's the way it should be done."