A/N While I don't expect an E/L engagement in season 9 (although wouldn't that be wonderful?), I couldn't help but write a little one-shot with a proposal I wouldn't mind seeing :)

(Also, I realize this timeline is very rushed considering season 8 ended in the fall of 1918, but I wanted these one-shots to fit in the timeline of my story "Nine Months", and I didn't think through the timeline very much when I wrote that one)

...

Engaged

(October 1918)

…

Lucas stood in the doorway of Coulter Lumber, finding Lee standing over his desk. He cleared his throat to get Lee's attention. "Lee, do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Lee motioned for him to take a seat, making sure the door closed behind him. "What brings you by?"

Lucas lowered himself into the chair across from Lee's desk. "I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice."

Lee sat in his own chair, wondering why Lucas would come to him for advice when he could've gone to Mike or Henry, with whom he was much closer. "Okay. What do you need?"

"Well, um," he chuckled nervously, fidgeting with his fingers, "I'm thinking of asking Elizabeth to marry me. Or, I suppose I'm past the thinking stage. I already have the ring."

"Oh, wow. Good for you." He paused. "So, what's the advice you need? I think you already know what you're doing when it comes to romantic gestures," Lee chuckled.

"You and Rosemary are close with Elizabeth; you've known her far longer than I have. Do you think it's too soon for me to ask her?"

"I don't think I can answer that for you. Every relationship moves at its own pace. I may know her well, but you're the one who knows the relationship."

"I'm just worried that she might be a bit gun-shy because of everything that happened with Jack." He sighed. "I know it took her a while to even be willing to pursue a relationship with me, so I'm wondering if it will take more time for her to be ready for an engagement and marriage."

"All that I'll say is that she's been happier in the months that you two have been courting than she's been in a long while. Now, whether she's ready to get married again," Lee shrugged, "I couldn't say."

Lucas nodded, staying quiet for a few moments as he thought about what Lee said. "Thank you, Lee." He stood and reached out to shake his hand.

"You're welcome, Lucas. I hope it all works out. You both deserve to be happy."

…

Lucas stood with Elizabeth just inside her house. "Enjoy your time with Rosemary."

"Okay. I'll be back in about an hour, and then we can have dinner."

He kissed her softly. "We'll see you then."

She crouched down to address her son. ''I'll be back soon, Jack. You have fun with Lucas. I love you."

"Love you, mama."

She stood back up and took Lucas's hand, squeezing it gently. "Don't hesitate to come over if you have any trouble."

"We'll be fine."

"I love you, Lucas."

"I love you, too." He gave her one last kiss on the cheek before she stepped out the door. "Well, Jack." He turned toward the little boy. "What would you like to do? We can read a book, or play with some toys, or put on our coats and go outside for a bit."

Without a word, Jack walked over to his toy chest and pulled out some wooden blocks.

"You're going to build with blocks today? Would you like some help?"

"No," he stated, stacking one block on top of another.

Lucas chuckled. "Okay. I'll just watch then." He removed his jacket and took a seat on the sofa, looking on as Jack expertly placed another block on his tower.

They were both quiet while Jack built his tower, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. The block structure started to teeter as it grew taller, and Lucas debated whether to help steady it or not. Before he could decide, it toppled over.

Jack's eyes widened. "Oh no!"

"That's okay, Jack. You can build it again."

"No. Why it fall?" He sank down among the scattered blocks, sadness covering his little face.

"Sometimes that happens, Jack. Things don't always go the way we plan. But we learn from our mistakes and do things differently next time." He got up from the couch and joined Jack on the floor. "Why don't we try something else this time? May I help you?" He reached for a block.

Jack nodded.

"Okay. The key is to build a good foundation." He placed a few blocks in a single layer on the ground. "This helps keep it from being so wobbly. Now," he held a block toward Jack, "let's try this again."

A few minutes later, they had built an impressive tower. Jack giggled, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Look at that, Jack. This is a wonderful tower. It's almost as tall as you are. Great job, buddy." Lucas ruffled his hair.

"Tank you." Jack moved over, taking a seat in Lucas's lap.

Lucas slipped his arm around the boy. "Jack, can you keep a secret?"

"Uh huh." The little boy nodded.

Lucas reached back for his jacket, pulling a small box out of his pocket and showing Jack the diamond ring nestled inside. "I'm planning to ask your mother to marry me."

"Pretty," Jack said, gently touching the ring with his little fingers.

"I'm glad you like it." Lucas smiled, closing the box and returning it to his jacket pocket. "So what do you think, Jack? Would you like it if I married your mother? We would all be a family."

Jack looked up at him, seeming to ponder his question for a moment before nodding. "A family," he echoed.

"And I want you to know something, Jack. Even if your mother and I get married, I'm not going to replace your dad. I know he meant a lot to your mom, and I know she'll always love him. And I know you never got to meet him, but I don't want you to forget him." Lucas smoothed down Jack's fine blonde hair. "I didn't know him either, but I want your mom and your Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Lee to be able to tell you about him. I won't be upset if you want to talk about him. Okay?" He kissed the top of the little boy's head. "I love you, Jack."

He turned in Lucas's lap, reaching his little arms around his waist. "Love you."

Lucas's heart melted. He had grown to love Jack as his own, and each time he heard that little voice return that love, he felt his heart expand even more for the boy he hoped would soon be his son.

…

Rosemary set down her teacup, looking up at Elizabeth. "How have things been going with you and Lucas?"

"Things have been going really well. We've been spending more time together, and ever since he babysat Jack last month, he's been asking for us to do more things with him. We go to the library and read together, we go on picnics. It's so wonderful to see Lucas including Jack more and more. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried about how he would handle that aspect of my life when we first started courting."

"And how does Jack get along with him?"

Elizabeth smiled. "So well. On the days that we don't have dinner with Lucas, Jack always asks about him, and he gets so excited whenever he comes over."

"That's adorable."

Elizabeth sipped her tea. "It's so cute. Sometimes…" She shook her head. "Never mind."

"No, what is it?"

She cleared her throat. "Sometimes it feels like we're already a family. When Lucas isn't working, he's usually with me, or with me and Jack. We have dinner together most nights. He's been walking me to school in the mornings, or at least stopping by the schoolhouse to say hello before class starts. And as much as I love where things are right now, there's a part of me that wants more. I don't want to have to say goodbye to him at night."

"Do you feel like you're ready for that step with him?"

"Honestly, I do. I know we haven't been together all that long, but I also know that he's my lifetime, as you put it. So I would happily start that lifetime together as soon as possible." She sighed. "If there's one thing I regret about my time with Jack, it's that we waited so long to move forward with our relationship. We were ready to be together, but we moved so slowly, and then our marriage was cut short. I don't want to wait so long this time."

"Well, I'm very happy for you, Elizabeth. And you know who to come to when you need help planning the wedding." She gave her a wink.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Oh, don't you worry. I will definitely come to you. But first, he needs to propose. And I suppose I need to let him know that I'm ready for that. I know he'll wait for as long as he thinks I need."

"He's a good man."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "A very good man. And I know he'll be a good husband and father."

"And who knows? Maybe he'll be a father to more than just Jack before long."

"Rosemary!" A flush rose in Elizabeth's cheeks. "Let us at least get engaged before we start discussing that!"

Rosemary laughed. "I'm just teasing, Elizabeth. Mostly."

…

Lucas pushed up his sleeves, joining Elizabeth at the stove. "What are we making?"

"Squash soup and fresh bread." She placed a small mound of dough on the counter in front of him. "You can knead the dough while I start on the soup."

"I'm on it." He dusted his hands with a bit of flour and started working the dough.

"Rosemary and I had an interesting conversation earlier," Elizabeth said as she scooped out the squash she had roasted earlier and dropped it into a pot.

"Oh, really? About what?"

"You."

"Only good things, I hope."

She nudged him with her hip. "Of course. I told her how well you and Jack get along, and how…I can already see us as a family." She looked over at him, expectation and a hint of hope in her eyes.

He smiled brightly. "I'm glad you said that. I can see that, too." He leaned in with the intention of giving her a quick kiss, but she placed her hand behind his head, holding him to her.

By the time they pulled back a few moments later, they were both breathless. He had left sprinkles of flour on her pink cheeks, and she had accidentally mashed some bits of squash into his beard.

"Oh, dear." She laughed, trying to pick the food off his face. "We made a mess."

He kissed her again. "Worth it."

…

Elizabeth handed Lucas a book, and he put it back on the shelf. They worked quietly for a few minutes, shelving the small stack of books that had been returned to the library. Once the books were back where they belonged, Lucas turned toward Jack.

"Jack, can you get that book we found earlier?"

"Yeah." He crossed the small room, reaching for a book that had been left on a chair by the far wall.

"Now can you please give it to your mother?"

Jack nodded, handing the book to Elizabeth.

"Thank you, sweet boy." She ruffled his hair. "Is there a reason you wanted him to give me this book?" She looked at Lucas curiously.

"I saw it earlier and thought it was interesting, and I wanted to share it with you."

"Okay…" She ran her fingers over the front of the book. Our Story was embossed in gold letters in the center of the leather cover. "I haven't heard of this one."

"Open it." Lucas took a few slow steps toward her.

She flipped open the cover. "Lucas Bouchard and Elizabeth Thornton, 1918," she read aloud. "Lucas, what is this?"

He gave her a dimpled grin. "Keep going."

She turned to the next page, finding a photo of the two of them from the Yosts' wedding. The following page held a photo of the two of them with Jack. As she continued flipping through the book, she found more reminders of their time together, dating back to their early friendship: notes he had given her on her manuscript, a ticket stub from their trip to Virginia Woolf's reading in Union City, their favorite poems, dreams they had shared with each other. Finally, she reached a page with a single sentence printed on it in Lucas's careful script.

"Now, it's time to continue our story."

She glanced up to find him dropping to one knee. She gasped, bringing a hand to her heart. "Lucas."

"Elizabeth Thornton, I've loved every moment I've spent with you. I would love to spend the rest of my moments with you." He pulled the ring from his pocket, holding it out to her. "Will you marry me?"

"Lucas, I…"

His heart pounded as he waited for her answer. Jack had climbed up into the chair and was watching them intently.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes, I'll marry you."

He stood, tears filling his eyes, and slipped the ring onto her finger. "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I love you." She leaned in to kiss him.

"Yuck!" Jack shouted, giggling.

Lucas chuckled, while Elizabeth turned to her son and smiled, wiping the happy tears from her cheeks. "What are you laughing at, silly boy?" She scooped him up. "You don't like when we kiss?"

He kept giggling as she dropped kisses all over his face. "No tisses!"

"No more kisses? Okay." She smoothed down his hair. "Do you know what just happened, Jack? Lucas and I are going to get married."

Lucas put an arm around her. "We'll all be a family." He kissed Jack's cheek, then Elizabeth's. "I love you both so much."

…

Lucas led Elizabeth into his office, revealing a small table that had been set up in the middle of the room. "I thought we could have a private celebration tonight. We'll let Rosemary throw her party tomorrow."

Elizabeth smiled. "Perfect."

He helped her remove her jacket, hanging it beside his on the hooks by the door. When she started to move toward the table, he grabbed her hand. "Wait."

"For what?"

He stepped closer to her. "I just haven't kissed you in a while."

"Oh. Well we should probably remedy that." She put a hand on his cheek, leaning in until their lips touched.

"Much better." He grinned, his dimples showing beneath his beard. "Now we can eat."

Half an hour later, their bowls were empty. Lucas leaned back in his chair. "Did you save any room for dessert?"

"Maybe in a little while." She wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin. "That was delicious. What was it called again?"

"Poulet au Cidre. Chicken cooked in apple cider with apples and onions."

"You chose well."

"I actually didn't choose this one. I simply asked Gustave to surprise me. I'll let him know you enjoyed it." He crooked his eyebrow. "Maybe we can serve this at our wedding."

"Maybe." Elizabeth glanced down at the ring on her finger and smiled. "I still can't believe it. We're getting married."

Lucas grinned, reaching across the table to take her hand. "We are."

"Thank you for waiting for me."

"Well, like I told you in Union City, I was willing to wait as long as it took." He lifted her hand to his lips, dropping a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I love you, Lucas."

"Do you have any thoughts on what you'd like for our wedding?"

"A few. Would it be too soon to get married in a month?"

"As far as I'm concerned, my love, getting married to you right this minute wouldn't be too soon. In fact, we can go find Bill right now."

She laughed softly, her cheeks warming. "As much as I love the idea of marrying you right now, I think we should have a wedding. Nothing extravagant, but I want to be able to celebrate with all of our friends and family."

"I suppose you have a point." He stood and rounded the table so he could kiss her again. "Just let me know when and where you want this wedding to be, and I will be there waiting to marry you."