Jake was packed, suitcase next to him on his bed. He had a small box open on the bed next him while he was twirling the contents around and around on his index finger. The small platinum ring had been in his possession for weeks now just waiting for the right moment to give it to its eventual owner.

Amy. His thoughts drifted to his girlfriend of 5 years. A smile crept onto his face as he watched the ring twirl. He had booked this trip as a way to celebrate her finishing undergrad at Harvard with a major in Classics. Graduation was still 6 weeks away, which he was hoping would disguise his real reason for taking her to Norway. He was going to propose to her. He had wanted to for a few years now, but he felt it was finally the right time.

He sighed as he tilted the ring so it hit the light. He read the inscription on the outside of the ring as he twirled it. It was two words repeated over and over.

ارتفع في ازهر كاهيل ارتفع في ازهر كاهيل ارتفع في ازهر كاهيل

Cahill Rosenbloom Cahill Rosenbloom Cahill Rosenbloom

He had decided on Arabic partly because of the beauty of the writing, but partly because Amy had chosen a minor in Arabic and she really needed a lot of help with it, so many of their nights were spent cramming Arabic together. It had been fun and exasperating at the same time. Jake smiled at the memory of their most recent Arabic study session. Amy had thrown her half-full water bottle at him when he teased her just a little bit too long.

He glanced at his phone, it was time to go. He carefully placed he ring back in its box and zipped it into his luggage then grabbed his bag and headed downstairs. Amy had been packed since last night and he grabbed her bag as he headed out the bedroom door. She would be heading back to the house from class any moment. Dan had agreed to drive them to the airport. As he rounded the staircase and made for the main floor the front door flew open and a windswept Amy blew in. The cold March air swirled around the foyer. She dropped her backpack and slipped off her snow boots. He reached the foyer and smiled at her. She quick shuffled over to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I need about 5 minutes, then I'll be ready." She said as she blew past him and took the stairs two at a time all while pulling off her sweater over her head as she went.

"You know Norway is cold, right?" Jake shouted up the stairway after her.

True to her word, 5 minutes later Amy reemerged from their bedroom with hair brushed, fresh make-up on and a pretty, feminine sweater over her tank. Jake gave her raised eyebrows, "I like this one so much better," Amy offered simply.

Hand in hand, they walked out to the Mercedes-Benz Dan had warmed up on the curb. Jake drove and Amy sat shotgun while Dan was on his phone in the back. He was happy to drive them to the airport. He knew all about Jake's plan to propose; so did Atticus. They had caught Jake twirling the ring outside one afternoon and he had spilled the beans. To be honest, Dan was surprised Jake had waited this long. He'd been in love with his sister ever since he was 18. That had been 6 years ago even though they'd only been dating for 5.

Dan had his thoughts on someone of his own. Elin Möller, a new molecular science student at MIT from Sweden who Dan offered to show around the chemistry lab. She was an angel; white blonde hair, light blue eyes, and six feet tall with a body like a super model. Almost every single male in the lab had offered to show Elin around, but she had picked his hand out of the crowd. They texted each other several times each day, but they hadn't actually gone out on a date yet.

Dan was precisely as good looking as his older sister now. At 19, Dan was 6'2", had sandy blonde hair and the same deep green eyes as his sister. He had also been working out for three years at Amy's insistence and was pretty jacked; not as much as Jake, but honestly, a guy didn't need to live at the gym like he and Amy did every morning at 5:00 am.

He texted her just now, "Class go OK for u today?"

She texted right back, "Ya. U?"

Dan smiled, he could picture her saying this with her Swedish accent, "Y. I'm taking my sister and her boo to the airport. Norway. He's going to pop the question."

Elin wrote back, "Norway is shit. Sweden. Only way to go." She had included an emoji of a face with heart-eyes and the Swedish flag.

Dan smiled. Now was as good a time as any, "U want to go out sometime?"

Elin responded right away with a 'praying hands' emoji, "I thought you were never going to ask me."

Dan couldn't hide the smile or laugh on his face from the back seat. He let out a small laugh and bit his lip as he looked out the side window. Jake noticed and looked in the rear-view mirror. "What's up?" he said with a smile of his own to match Dan's.

"Oh nothing. Nothing." Dan said, looking back down at the praying hands Elin had sent. She really wanted to go out with him. This was good news. He thought about it some more, trying to think of the best place to take her. He wanted to go tonight. Was that too fast? He didn't want to look desperate, but then again, she had put the praying hands, not him. Maybe she was excited too? He didn't know. Amy and Jake would know though. No time like the present. Better to just get their opinion. It meant explaining Elin, but he didn't really care. He wasn't ashamed.

"Hey guys, um, what would you think if your crush asked you out at 2:33 in the afternoon for a date that night? Is that weird? Or is that cool?" Dan said looking quizzical in the back seat.

Amy and Jake glanced at the dash clock. 2:33 pm. Amy glanced sideways at Jake and he shot Dan a look in the rearview mirror.

"Who is she Dan?" Jake asked, cutting right to the chase. Amy whipped around in her seat to see Dan properly.

Dan was rethinking his question a little too late. "Oh, um, just, ya' know…" Dan started, still staring at his phone, but when he looked up, he saw Jake's intent look in the mirror and Amy was leaning around the front seat practically staring bug-eyed at him. Dan let out a long slow breath, "oh man." There was no hiding this from them. They had been house-mates for the last five years and they all knew each other too well to pull something over on these two.

"She's my chemistry lab partner. New this semester, from Sweden. Name is Elin Möller. She's a goddess and she wants to go out with me."

Jake and Amy gave completely opposite reactions from the front seat. Jake pumped his fist into the air and shouted, "YES!" and reached back for a fist bump from Dan. Amy got a small frown on her face and looked at Dan intently while staying quiet. She was always cautious about girls showing interest in Dan. He was the only member of the vast Cahill empire to know the formula for the 39 clues serum. If someone really wanted it from Dan, all they'd have to do was set a honey-trap for him.

While Amy brewed on this new girl, Jake was giving his best advice for a first date, despite the fact that he'd never been on one with Amy. Dan was starting to light up in the back seat. Amy quietly slipped her phone out of her bag and texted Atticus who was at Cambridge headquarters.

"Att, I need you to run a name through the database: Elin Möller, Sweden, approx 18 years old. ASAP"

Amy sat back and let the boys talk date strategy, dinner plans and what to wear. It was fun seeing Dan and Jake bond over this girl. She just hoped it was for real and not some play. Atticus' reply came back fast.

"Old news, Amy. Dan's crush. Must be finally telling you about her."

Amy was annoyed. "Just tell me what you know." As an aside, she added, "please."

Atticus' response was slow coming. Finally, "Clear, she's an Ekat from a very remote branch of the Cahill tree. Comes from engineer parents and a brother at University of Oslo."

Amy smiled and replied, "thx." She turned around in her seat to face Dan.

"Um Dan, I asked Atticus to run her name through the database. She's an Ekat from a very remote branch of the Cahill tree. Comes from engineer parents and a has a brother at the University of Oslo."

"Thank you very much Nancy Drew. I already looked her up, you could have just asked me." Dan said, annoyed.

Jake had gotten very quiet all of a sudden, realizing this would always be Amy's first response when it came to her brother; only after he was safe would she lighten up and let him have fun.

Amy had the sense to look sheepish, "Sorry, I just had to be sure. I wasn't trying to ruin your date, I was just worried, that's all."

Dan wanted to say more, but he just rolled his eyes and smiled.

Jake pulled up to the curb at Logan International. He and Amy quickly got their bags and gave Dan a quick hug good-bye. As Dan hugged Jake he whispered, "good luck," and Jake whispered, "you too, can't wait to hear how it goes." Then Dan drove away.

Amy and Jake had 8 long hours on the plane, but thankfully Jake had sprung for first class. All those airline miles flying to and from archeology dig sites had added up. Their flight to Oslo was uneventful and they checked into their suite at the Hotel Continental around 7 am. They were exhausted so they decided to get a few hours of sleep before they tried to acclimate to their new environment. The suite was plush and upscale. It overlooked downtown Oslo and they even had their own balcony; too bad it was so cold outside.

Amy woke up a little before 11 to a note on Jake's pillow.

A-

I went to the market to get us some lunch. Be back soon.

-J

PS-You look gorgeous sleeping.

Amy smiled. Jake had been extra affectionate ever since they left Boston. He had wanted to hold her hand the whole flight and nuzzle her neck. When they had gone to sleep earlier this morning, he spooned right up next to her and pulled her tight against him. Amy brushed back a strand of her hair thinking of him. She stripped off her light weight cami and pulled on her heaviest sweater she brought and boy shorts. She made some tea and was standing at the balcony doors looking out over Oslo when Jake returned with all sorts of food.

"Good Morning," he said smiling at her. He walked over and gave her a quick kiss before dropping his food bags on the coffee table. "Ok, I hope you're hungry. I bought everything I thought looked good. I'm starved."

She smiled at him. He was so enjoying this.

"I have pickled herring and crackers, blue cheese and olives, grapes and strawberries, I got us some Norwegian soda, and, just for you," he held this last item out with a flourish, "Milka chocolates."

"I can't believe you remembered!" Amy said taking the purple wrapped candies from him and popping one in her mouth.

"Personally, I think Milka is a crime against the food gods, but, you seem to really like it, so, anything for my baby." Jake said smiling as in defeat.

They sat and ate while they talked, "Did you get enough sleep?" Jake asked spooning some fish on a cracker.

"No, but it's OK. I don't want to miss Oslo, so we'll stay awake as long as we can, then just crash tonight." Amy replied popping two Kalamata olives in her mouth at the same time. "What do you have planned today?"

"Nothing" Jake replied helping himself to a strawberry. "I don't have anything planned at all this whole week. We do what we want, when we want, for as long as we want. I figure we just wake up each day and decide then what we want to do."

Amy was silent for a moment. This from the guy who had his entire college plan worked out while he was a freshman in high school. The guy who made more plans in a week than Dan would probably do in his entire life. This just wasn't how Jake operated-at all.

He must have sensed her shock, "What?" he said around a mouthful of food.

"Nothing. I just am surprised at you. You rarely go without a plan, that's all." Amy replied smiling.

Jake fixed his smug grin in place. "Well, it's not entirely without a plan, I mean, I picked a thriving European capital full of art, music, culture, food and some of the most amazing scenery known to planet earth. I'm pretty sure we'll find something to do while we're here."

Amy gave him a slow nod. "There it is. I knew you were in there somewhere." She said noting his sarcasm getting up and heading for the shower. Jake snorted and started to follow her.

By the end of the first full day, they had acclimated to the time difference and the weather. They spent the second and third days walking around Oslo, going to the museums and eating at some amazing places along the way. Oslo was a truly international city and they had their pick of international cuisine. Jake woke Amy up every morning with a sweet note on his pillow while he went and ordered them breakfast. Amy was starting to get a little suspicious because even for Jake, this was out of the ordinary. He was an affectionate boyfriend and always told her how he felt about her but this was more than usual.

That night Jake had gotten them tickets to the Oslo National Ballet to see Anna Karenina. Amy had never been to the ballet before and Jake insisted that she get a new dress to wear. They spent some time on

Nedre Slottsgate at the high-end shops in the city centre. Amy left with an asymmetrical long sleeve black and gold Versace that Jake said was 'way hot'. He had packed his Tom Ford suit Ian had insisted he buy several years earlier and Amy thought he looked equally hot. Together they made quite the pair. After an amazing dinner of Ossobuco with risotto, wine and dessert, they were ready to head to the ballet. The Opera house was beautiful and the ballet was magnificent. Amy was moved to tears during the dramatic end of Anna Karenina, which surprised her. Jake noticed and offered her a tissue. He leaned over and whispered, "I love you," just as the house lights came back on.

The Oslo Opera House overlooked the Inner Oslofjord, and it was a slightly warmer March night. Bundled up against the cold, both Amy and Jake walked along the boardwalk, hand in hand. Jake bumping his shoulder against hers. Just then, Amy looked up into the night sky and gasped.

"Look!"

Jake's head whipped from her to the spot in the sky she was staring at; the Northern Lights were dancing a serpentine shape of turquoise and jade green across the sky. They both stopped and simply stared at this magnificent sight. He wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her tight to him.

"Amy, I have to tell you something." He grabbed both her hands in his, fixing his gaze intently on her green eyes. "When I met you at the colosseum all those years ago, never would I have imagined my life would have turned out the way it has. We've been through so much together."

Amy nodded.

"The one constant over all those years has been my love for you. You are my rock, my shelter, my whole world."

Amy's pulse quickened. He was finally going to do it. Jake had told her at least once every year that they 'should get married', but he had never actually proposed to her. Now it seemed he was going to do it properly this time.

Jake continued, "I have loved every second of our life together. We don't always agree, but, I love that about you too. You aren't afraid to speak up when you think I'm wrong and you don't take any crap from me. You add deeper colors to my world and give me strength to tackle anything-sometimes literally if it involves your family." Jake smiled and this comment made Amy laugh.

"I love making you laugh. It's one of my favorite joys in life."

Amy smiled, "I love that you can make me laugh." She extended one of her gloved hands to touch the side of his face.

"Amy," Jake pulled off his glove, dug something out of his pocket and made to genuflect in front of her, "will you marry me?"

Amy's hearing had gone white. She couldn't hear anything besides the beating of her fast heartbeat. She noticed several couples nearby now pointing at them and smiling. She became aware that she was shaking. She had to calm down. She found Jake's face swimming in front of her and focused on his handsome features.

She slowly began to nod, all while crying, finally squeaking out, "Yes!"

Jake stood and slipped a beautiful platinum band with an inscription encircling it on her finger then enveloped her in a deep hug.

"You've made me the happiest man on earth, Amy Hope Cahill."